Love endures anything
by rockchip96
Summary: [Paily] Emily has to deal with Paige leaving and moving to California.
1. Chapter 1

Following the events of 5x14

Chapter 1:

Em POV

She was gone. Everything happened so fast: the arrest, the plane, the A firework show. She had returned home exhausted and fell asleep as soon as she laid on her bed and closed her eyes. She was awake now and in the dim light of the morning it dawn on her. Paige was gone – and she didn't think she could take it. The first rays of the sun were penetrating through the window reaching her skin softly, but she couldn't feel its warmth; she couldn't feel anything, except the dull pain in her chest. Struggling against her own tears and swallowing the lump in her throat.

Her brain was numb; it was so unreal, she felt she was in an alternative world, living someone else's life. How could this happen to her after everything she went through? Alison? Maia? And then Paige… it wasn't like they found her lifeless body all over again, but in some way it felt just as bad. It felt like she had gone for good, like she would have never seen her again.

She pushed herself off her bed, trudging forward to reach the door, trying to keep steady – she felt queasy and weak. She was almost at the door when she felt she was about to throw up, so she just let herself fall on top of the rubbish container – feeling the acid liquids leave her throat and fill it. Her head reeling, she just stared at the wall for a couple minutes, not sure if she should get up and get dressed – what was the point anyway? It wouldn't have felt any better.

Her phone rang and she finally pulled herself up to take the call. It was Hanna, who just asked her to meet up at Spencer's for an emergency. And that's what she did, moving against the pain and getting out before her mom could say anything.

She parked in front of Spencer's , but a blue Toyota pulling over on the other side of the road caught her attention and she just let her memories drag her away slowly.

She was in the front seat of Paige's car, the brunette right next to her, driving, close enough for her to touch. Music was playing from the radio, rice fields were passing out of the window, together with a light blue sky; the sun was shining and it was a marvelous day. She wasn't really paying attention to any of it, though; all that mattered was Paige, her proximity, their skin barely grazing, the warmth she radiated, that soft lovely smile on her lips, that was just enough to make you pull her closer into a kiss, her beautiful brown eyes that lightened every time she said her name… it was all she saw – everything else was just background.

'Em!'. She got pulled back into her sad, sorrowful reality – too quickly and too roughly for her to bare. But she didn't have a choice – she had to at least pretend she was fine, it was the only way to avoid talking about it. 'Hey, are you ok? I called you like ten times already!' Hanna grabbed her wrist and dragged her through the door to the living room, where Spencer and Aria were waiting. 'Yeah, I just got caught in my own thoughts… so, what's going on? What's the emergency?'  
Spencer put her cup of coffee on the kitchen counter and started talking: 'Well, the emergency is A made us think Ali was framing me for the murders she supposedly committed, so that we would get her arrested, and now that she did get arrested, A had exactly what it wanted and can use its new free time to torture us instead. Is it enough of an emergency or do you need something more? '.  
'Okay'. The word left her mouth sounding careless, meaningless, the look on her face empty and dull.  
'Okay!? Did you hear a word of what I just said? Do you even care at all?' Her eyes wide in surprise, she was incredulous to Emily's reaction to the entire situation. With a worried frown on her face Aria swept in to help: 'Em, we get with Paige being away you must feel awful, but we really need all brains on board right now, we have to find a way to fight this, we can't just let A win the game.'  
'Aria's right.' Started Hanna 'Whoever it is, A has been harassing us for way too long, it has to stop, we have to take our lives back, guys!'.  
It was Spencer's turn now: 'I don't want to keep living like this, I want to start a new life in college, a life free of games, blackmailing, lying, free of concerns and fear because I can't take it anymore. I want a life free of A, and I deserve it! We all do!'  
They all looked at each other more determined than ever, until Aria finally said: 'So, are you with us or not?' Emily kept her eyes put on them, she felt so empty and hopeless. It was true; The A game had been hard, ruthless at times – all the murders and 'accidents' in town were the reason why Paige's parents asked her to move to California in the first place. And after three years it really had taken a toll on her. All this was just too much. She couldn't fight it. Not anymore. She simply didn't care. A had taken her whole time, all her energy and strength, her dreams, her future, and now the person she loved the most. She was done. As far as she was concerned the game was over. It ended the minute Paige's lips left hers and the girl turned to leave. She stared blankly at them for a few more seconds. She still felt sick to the pit of her stomach, and an intense pain burned in her chest. She was almost getting used to those feelings, though. She just blinked once and turned to leave. She didn't know why the hell she decided to even come. It was their war, not hers.

Driving in her car once again, she stopped at a bar sign and pulled over. She needed a second to order her thoughts. She looked briefly at her backseat and a crisp formed on her eyebrows at the sight: there was a small package with a note on top. She knew who it was from even before she took it to read it.  
The letters print on the paper lined in front of her, the last of them being a capitol A at the end of the note. She stared one second longer and then read out loud, without even blinking at the words that were leaving her mouth: 'I'm sorry for your loss, Em… maybe this could ease your pain'.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, this is my first fanfiction and I really appreciate it. Here is my second chapter, I actually wrote it before seeing 5x15 because I want this to be different from the show. Write a comment if you can, I'd really like to see what you all think. I'll try to update every Sunday if I make it. Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 2:

Emily took another gulp of the slightly brown liquid – feeling it flowing down her throat, leaving a burning, itching feeling in its wake. She let her eyes wander around – they were sore and reddish because she had been crying until she didn't have any tear left. The air was cold, it was getting dark now, as the day came to an end.

She had been driving around not really sure where to go or what to do for hours and had finally come to a halt at this _rustic_, _remote_ bar in the middle of nowhere. The sign on a window reading 'KARAOKE'. It was the place Paige asked her out to for their first date together. 'My subconscious must be playing tricks on me.' She thought bitterly. 'Or maybe it's just the universe mocking me.' She had gone in and asked for a bottle of whiskey, then saying if she could pay in advance and take it to go. She had to take her fake ID out to show that she was older than 21. She wasn't used to this; she had used it only once before, about three years ago when Ali had them come to that stupid frat party and that poor girl had fallen down the stairs… and now she was there, standing on a rock in the middle of the woods, away from her friends, her mom, her home, away from everything… away from Paige. Her grip on the bottle tightened and she felt a lump in her throat. She had never felt so lost and broken.

Then a look of fear passed through her eyes and a shiver ran coldly down her spine as she remembered the note and the box A gave her as a "gift", a mean to ease her pain.  
She had looked inside the dark container. She had stared at the set of _blades_ in front of her for minutes, but what she was thinking wasn't to throw them away, she didn't hate A for being so cruel and mean. What she actually thought was that maybe A had given her a real solution, a real choice out of her suffering. That's what frightened her. She was afraid of herself, of what she might do eventually. She had that exact same box right next to her right now. But she wouldn't dare to open it again. She couldn't trust herself. Not in that state.

The moon was up in the star-less night sky. She glimpsed briefly at the remaining glowing liquid in the bottle and then at the box. Self-harming wasn't a joke. She saw the pain and hurt in Paige's eyes the night the girl told her about her history with Ali. When she finally confessed about hurting herself. When Paige let her walls fall for the first time and Emily could really see her – realizing how fragile she actually was. Well, she had already seen her in a fragile state before, like that time she went to her house under the pouring rain in the middle of the night just to apologize… but that was the first time she felt the girl completely opened up to her. The first time she looked in the girl's tearful eyes fully understanding her, feeling completely connected to her.

The memory of Paige's eyes stabbed her through her chest painfully, and one last blissful tear fell on her cheek, right when she thought she didn't have any left.

But it was enough to bring her to reality. She had been there drinking, lost in her thoughts for way too long. She was completely numb now. She couldn't feel her body anymore. She was just wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a light jacket and she was sitting on a rock in the woods in the middle of a freezing night. Taking consciousness of her surroundings she looked at her watch and then at her car keys. It was almost 12 and she was drunk, how was she supposed to manage driving back home and explaining everything to her mom? 'I can't go home.' She whispered worriedly. _Hanna could pick me up and I could stay at hers_. She thought taking her phone and dialing Hanna's number difficulty, almost at the point where she couldn't think anymore. The only thing moving her was the memory of Paige's eyes. They gave her strength, cleared her mind of all the dark thoughts. Even at hundreds of miles away the girl seemed to be protecting her. No matter what she was doing or where she was, Paige was her _guardian-angel_.

A couple days later.

Emily woke up and stared blankly at the ceiling. The gap in her chest was still there, but she was feeling better today. She was realizing Paige and her weren't over; of course she was gonna miss her. A lot. But she was gonna see her again. She was gonna meet her again someday, maybe after graduation. Maybe sooner. And once that happened she was gonna hug her close, tight, breathing in Paige's smell, greeting the feeling of her warm body against hers, of her strong arms holding her.

She was gonna kiss her and then she was gonna look in those beautiful warm brown eyes and tell her that she loved her. Because she did. And she never realized how much until she asked her to stay at their departure some days before. 'Please, _don't_ go' She had said, her voice breaking because of the painful angst in her chest. She had meant to say more. To fight for her. But she couldn't. Not when Paige seemed so broken herself. So set on leaving and so tired of fighting. So _worried of having nothing left to just live_. That was what she said. And Emily couldn't push her anymore. So she just hug her, gave her a brief kiss and let her _go_.

She shook her head getting up into a sitting position. Why was she doing this to herself, again? There was no point. Especially now that she was gonna talk to her; Paige had been kinda MIA for a while, but the day before the girl called to explain; she said her parents were still pushing her to train harder even though she already had a full-ride scholarship to Stanford. They also wanted her to socialize, make new friends. But that was not all, her parents asked her to cut ties with her girlfriend. They wanted her to move on because it seemed very clear to them that being in a long-distance relationship wasn't gonna work for them. They thought Paige would lose sight of her goals, that she would train less, be more distracted, and that Paige would be constantly in pain for being away from her. 'My mom said if I keep in touch with you I'm only gonna hurt. That you probably will never leave Rosewood and that she doesn't want this kind of life for me. She's worried and wants me to find someone new. She said I can fall in love again, that I can find the right person for me. That I _have_ to let you _go_.' She remembered Paige's voice. It hurt a lot after everything… but then Paige told her that she wasn't gonna do that. She told her she still managed to make a deal with her parents: she was gonna talk and see Emily on Skype, but only once a week. Her mom thought maybe that way she was still gonna have closure, not with a painful clean break, but with time, so that Paige could realize her mother was right. The girl then asked her if it was okay to see each other every Sunday morning at nine. 'It will be 6 a.m. here, but I have to wake at 4 to train anyway…' She recalled Paige's voice. Emily should've been thrilled, but she wasn't. Not when Paige's voice felt so distant on the phone. What if she was actually considering her parents request? She left that question hanging. The clock stroke 8:30 and she rushed to the bathroom to shower. She had to make herself presentable and prepare for her chat.

Paige ran into the bathroom to have a shower as fast as she could; she was going to talk to Emily at 6, about thirty minutes from now, and she wanted to be presentable. Which was exactly what she wasn't right now, she was all sweaty and she looked like a mess. She watched herself in the mirror and saw the drops of blood on her shirt… yeah, she definitely didn't want Emily to see her like that, she thought turning her gaze away. Emily couldn't know. No one could.

The screen of her computer bugged with an incoming call and her heart bumped in her chest seeming eager to get out. Emily clicked to accept the video-call, the mouse in her hand slightly trembling while she imagined the girl she so fondly loved appear on the display.

And a second later she was right there, just like she remembered her, but looking more beautiful than ever. 'Hey' She said, her voice crunchy as she felt a slight comfort washing over all the sorrow the previous days had brought. 'Hey, how are you?' Paige suddenly asked. 'I mean, Ali's in prison, A's gone… it must be a lot better over there, now that you and your friends can actually have time for yourselves.' Emily felt caught in surprise, she didn't want to lie, but she didn't want Paige to be worried about her either. 'Oh, yeah… I haven't talked much with them lately… I'm still dealing with you leaving, actually.' She finally said sincerely; she hadn't really talked to her friends since the meeting at Spencer's. They had passed by occasionally to check on her, give her her homework since she was missing a few days of school, and she also knew they were plotting something. They had visited Ali in prison. It was obvious they were up to something to protect themselves, but she didn't care. A while had passed and she hadn't heard anything from A. She had thrown the box the first chance she had and she only wanted to move on from this. She wanted to move on from A and to deal with Paige, with their long-distance relationship.

'You are?' The girl asked sounding kind of surprised. 'Don't you look so incredulous! You know how much you mean to me…' At least she thought Paige knew, but she realized she hadn't exactly shown her, not compared to all the times Paige told her she loved her and proved she was always gonna be there for her nomatterwhat.

'Yeah, I guess I do…' Paige said, a grin finally making its way on her lips. 'It's not easy for me either, you know? It's not every day you get to be with _Emily Fields, _the most amazing, stunning girl you could ever meet...' She said warmly, honestly transpiring through her eyes. 'And right when I had you, and we were such in a good place, I _had_ to leave… ' Her face darkened for a moment, her gaze dropped. 'I just hope you can understand…'.  
'I _so_ understand and _I love you_, alright?' Emily said hurriedly, wanting to be clear about how she felt about the girl. 'I don't care if we're miles away, I just need to know that you're in this as much as I am, that you still want me _nomatterwhat_.'

'Of course I do. Em, you have no idea how much and for how long I wished to be with you. I mean, when you didn't even know I existed, then I already dreamed of getting to know _you_, I dreamed of looking into your eyes and just be near you. Sometimes when I think about it I realize how _crazy_ this all is. How there seems to be nothing in this world that could placate my _love_ for you, not even a bit.' Emily looked in awe at her girlfriend and asked herself how she did it. How could Paige always sound so cute whenever she said anything? She opened her mouth, intent on confessing fully how she felt about the situation. 'I'm afraid…' She uttered, sighing before continuing. 'I'm afraid that something will happen eventually, that your feelings for me will change someday… all this distance between us is just… not good… what if what we have won't be the same again? What if putting our love through all of this will break it? I don't want to lose _this_.' Emily breathed out the last words in a trembling voice. Her eyes almost watering, but she was still holding it together. 'You _won't_. I _promise_ you, nothing's gonna change.' Paige's tone warm and comforting. 'How can you be so sure?' Emily asked surprised by the girl's confidence. She looked straight in Paige's eyes waiting for her answer. 'Because _our_ love _can't_ be broken; true _love endures anything_.'


	3. Chapter 3

**So, here's my third chapter, it's the longest yet. I have tried to make the story more 'dynamic', in some way… anyways, I wanted to thank everyone who wrote a review, those are always very much appreciated, and Tzei for the PM, you're really supportive. Also, I might not be able to always post a chapter every week, because I'm really really busy with school.  
So, this is it. Please review and tell me what you think, hope you enjoy =) **

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

Alison stood up immediately when she heard the heavy footsteps in the hallway suddenly getting to a halt right in front of her cell.  
The guard hit the bars to make sure he had her attention before he spoke. 'You have visitors, inmate.' He said briskly before moving away from the cell to let the visitors show themselves.  
Four pretty girls appeared and got close to the cell, so that they could speak face to face with the blonde girl a few steps away from them. Ali looked worn out and jaded . A bruise was showing on her left cheek, under her eye. It mustn't have been easy for her either, being locked in there.

'I knew you would come, eventually.' She said, her tone bitter. She tried to keep it neutral, but her eyes betrayed her, showing the anger she was feeling. 'You do need me, after all…' She trailed off.  
'This is why I didn't wanna come.' Hanna said suddenly. 'She couldn't wait for us to come and beg for her help. Can't you see it? She won't help us! She'll just play with us to get her revenge.' All eyes turned to the girl. They knew she was probably right, but they had to at least try. Spencer sighed before starting to speak. 'It was hard enough for us to get here, especially for Emily.' She said turning briefly to the dark-haired girl, hoping that Alison did have feelings for her, even if remote and hidden under the various layers of her distorted mind. It was the only thing she could come up with right now. Besides, desperate situations, called for desperate solutions.

'You know she's been through a lot lately, but we convinced her to come anyway because last time you refused to talk to us since we weren't all here.' She gave one pleading look to the girl behind the bars. 'So, please, for once, don't look at this as a game, because it's not. Our lives are at stake and we really need answers… Ali?' She asked when the girl didn't budge. 'I never thought this was a game, Spencer. I always knew what I was dealing with.' This time her tone sounded angry. The girl couldn't stop it from transpiring. Not when the sting of betrayal hurt so much. 'I've struggled with A for longer than you have. I had to hide for two years pretending I was dead, and when I finally come home, you, who are supposed to be my friends, turn your backs on me.' Aria decided to swoop in, noticing Ali's eyes on the verge of watering. She had never seen Ali this way before, the girl looked really hurt. If it was all an act she really deserved an award for pulling off that kind of performance. 'I know we haven't told you yet, but we _are_ sorry. We really _are_, and we're gonna do whatever we can to help you, but we need your help too.' Aria said trying to be convincing. She still didn't trust the girl entirely, but she needed Ali to trust them. She may or may not be A, but she still kept lots of secrets. She was either a victim of A or she was A. And for all they knew this was part of her big plan of destroying them.

Alison looked at them one by one. Her gaze stopped on the girl that hadn't spoken all this time. Emily looked up at her. She looked tired. Like she didn't want to be there but was forced to come. She was also keeping her distance, but Ali knew it wasn't entirely because of her. She was going through her own problems. Beside the A situation, Paige leaving had taken its toll on her and she felt her throat constrict when she saw the pain in the girl's dark eyes.

'How about you, Em? Do you want my help?' Emily inhaled deeply before nodding her head. 'I don't want it, Ali. I need it.' She finally managed to say. 'Then I guess I'll help you.' Ali uttered after a small pause. 'But at one condition.' The four girls gazed again at each other, exchanging worried looks. 'What's that?' Spencer asked, creasing her brows in concern.

'This time you have to trust me. No matter what I do, or what I ask of you, you have to trust what I say and follow my lead. I'm the only one that can help you get read of A, for good… so, do we have a deal?'  
Spencer glanced at her friends to make sure they all agreed. They hadn't gone that far to just pull away at the last second. When they all nodded in agreement she finally faced the blonde girl, determined. 'We have a deal.' She confirmed.

* * *

'I know we really had no choice, but I think making a deal with the devil won't help us when Lilith will come knocking at our doors...' Hanna said while they were walking around town after they left the prison so that they could ease the tension built in there earlier. '…besides, we still don't know if the devil and Lilith are the same person.' 'Yeah, or for all we know they could be working together.' Aria suggested speaking her thoughts. 'Guys, I don't think Ali is related to A any other way than being its victim.' Spencer said, making all eyes turn on her. 'What?! You were the one who insisted that she was A and was trying to frame you in the first place!' Hanna insisted, incredulous at Spencer's answer. 'Yeah, but that was a firework show and a bruised Ali ago, lots has changed since then. I just don't think she would do this to herself just so that we would trust her again.' This time it was Aria debating. 'Well, technically, we were the ones getting her in jail thanks to Mona's security cameras, so maybe this wasn't part of her plan, but she could still be playing us…'

Outnumbered, Spencer just stared at the girl, seemingly defeated. She turned to Emily, who hadn't said a word all this time. 'Em, what do you think? Is Ali A's victim or is she just playing us again?' Emily looked at her warily, passing a hand through her hair. 'I think…' All eyes on her, the three girls were waiting to hear her opinion. 'I think I'm late for my shift at the Brew.' She finally said. 'I gotta go, see you later?' She asked leaving before they could respond.

'I'm worried about her.' Spencer uttered watching her leave. 'Yeah, we all are, Spence. But she'll get over it, I'm sure. She's been through much worse.' Hanna said reassuringly to her friend before looking away to hide the concern in her own eyes.

* * *

Emily looked around herself while putting her apron on. The place crawled with people and she couldn't believe it; in all the time she worked there she had never seen so many customers. 'What's going on here?' She asked turning to the guy next to her behind the counter. His name was Carter, the new handsome barista hired just some days before, but that had already lots of experience from working all around the West Coast. 'I've worked here for years and I've never seen this place so crowded.' She explained widening her eyes when she quickly glared around. 'Yeah, we're gonna hold an event here tonight. We needed to get people to come, but Trip asked me not to tell you anything…' He said referring to the new owner of the bar. Emily looked at him again, confused. 'He said you had a really hard time lately, and didn't want to put more pressure on you. So he asked me, Brody and Jane to work tonight at the event.' He gave a second to the girl before speaking again. 'So, can this be like our secret? It's just my third day, I don't want any trouble for not minding my own business and telling you everything…' He glared at her with a hopeful look. 'Yeah, sure.' Emily finally said with a small smile. 'But I don't want to be treated differently. If Trip needed help for tonight he just should've asked me to come.' She continued annoyed at her boss' behavior.

'You know why he's doing this, right?' He asked glancing at the girl quickly before handing a coffee to a customer who had been waiting in line for a while. 'He cares about you… he told me he was stunned the second he laid eyes on you.' He continued when the girl didn't say anything. 'And who could blame him, you do make a great first impression… but that's beside the point.' He added seemingly in his own monologue. 'You know, just forget I said anything, sometimes I just can't keep my mouth shut and I really wanna keep this job, so…' 'Yeah, don't worry about it. As far as I'm concerned this conversation never happened.' She smiled at him before moving to a table to take the orders. 'Thanks, you're the best.' Carter said before turning to the customers again.

* * *

The sun was shining intensely in the sky, unwilling to let the temperature drop. Meanwhile a brown-haired girl was jogging underneath it, all sweaty and breathless, in a beautiful running attire that conformed perfectly to her toned body. Paige had been swimming that morning and was now having a run, because she needed to take her mind off things. She couldn't just sit in her room or she would have started to think about the dark-haired girl again. About her beautiful eyes, her long eyelashes, her soft lips curling into a smile… and there she was again. Now not even jogging was working. She burst into a desperate run to escape from her feelings of longing and desire to meet Emily's eyes and kiss those soft lips just one more time.

She faltered in her steps finding herself in front of her house once again. _And I always end up back where I've started._ She thought defeated by her own mind. She went straight to her room. She really wanted to call Emily and look at the girl through her laptop's screen, or just hear her voice… but it was Saturday and she had to wait the end of the day before she could talk to her again. She had felt so confident in herself their last conversation, but passing a week away from the girl had been hard as nothing she had experienced yet. She didn't know for how long she could keep it together. But she knew Emily was a mess right now. She saw it in the girl's eyes the previous week. So she had to be strong. For the both of them.  
She sighed, tired and pained. Besides, she couldn't talk to Emily often even if her parents let her… it was hard enough to look the girl in the eyes and lie to her once a week. She opened a drawer, taking a black piece of clothing out. It looked like it was ripped off something, like a shirt or a sweater. She looked at it worriedly. And Emily couldn't _know_. No one _could_.

* * *

'Hey there.' Emily looked up. Her shift was almost over. She had been running around taking orders and serving customers for the past four hours and she was really tired. A look of bewilderment passed through her eyes when they laid on a _graceful_, smiling girl, who was looking at her as if they knew each other. 'I'm sorry…' She began uncertain. 'Do I know you?' The girl's face had slim pretty features, framed by shoulder-length straight dark hair and her eyes were of a shining green, like emeralds. 'Actually… no. But I can help with that.' She said, seeming confident, her grin widening. 'I'm Grace, I'm new in town, but I've been a regular customer since I got here.' She concluded, her eyes not leaving Emily's.

'Grace…' Emily repeated. 'Yeah, that's my name.' The girl said suddenly looking a bit nervous. _Fate must have played its part_. Emily thought amused. 'Uhm, I'm Emily.' She said realizing the girl was waiting for some kind of response. 'Yeah, I know. I noticed you my first time here and I read your name on your apron… I've been coming to this place almost every day since… you were kinda hard to forget, you made a great first impression…' She kept going to fill Emily's silence. _Not the great first impression speech again_. Emily thought, uncomfortable all of a sudden.

'You know, this is a very small town, and apparently everyone knows each other. So I asked around… and you're not dating anyone. Right?' Emily froze, incredulous that someone told the new girl she was available and that Grace was making a move on her right now. The girl continued, seeming more worried by the minute because she wasn't receiving any kind of response. 'So I thought that maybe… would you like to go out with-' 'I can't. Sorry.' Emily said hurriedly finally finding her voice. She saw the perplexed look on the girl's face and tried to explain. 'It's not you. It's that… I'm not. Available, I mean. I have a girlfriend. She actually moved across country to California, but we're still together.' She concluded earnestly.  
'Oh.' The girl in front of her uttered. 'I'm really sorry, I didn't know…' Her face turning a light shade of red. 'It's okay, don't worry about it… really.' Emily added when the girl didn't budge. 'Okay… I'm gonna go then. Have a nice evening. And again, sorry for bothering you.' She said looking a bit embarrassed. 'Yeah, you too.' Emily smiled warmly at the girl to convince her everything was alright. The girl smiled back before turning around to leave. Emily sighed looking sad all of a sudden. She wished Paige was here right now. _Why aren't you here?_ She thought holding back her tears.

* * *

It was pit black out of her window. It was 11p.m. Emily had left the Brew and headed home to do some homework; the days of school she had skipped the previous week had provided her with cumulus of papers she had to write. It was like every teacher in Rosewood High had waited for her to miss school to give every possible assignment they could come up with. Right now she didn't mind, though. Her mom had gone to the airport to meet her father and take him home. He had a permit to momentarily leave the forces and spend some time with his family, after being recognized for his courage and bravery on the field with a medal. They were gonna come home soon and she was waiting to see him before crushing on her bed and falling asleep. She was also going to talk to Paige in the morning and that one thought alone triggered various emotions in her. Excitement. Eagerness. Happiness. But also longing. Desire. And the feeling that something was still missing.

She stood up as soon as she heard a car park in the front of her house. Something moving in the woods caught her attention, though. It was only for a moment but she thought she saw something. Adjusting her eyes to the darkness she looked at a black hooded figure, who was also staring up at her. Her blood ran cold and her breath hitched in her throat. A feel of dread subtly took place, washing away every possible positive emotion.

The figure turned to look at the parked car, were her parents were, seemingly engaged in conversation. Her heartbeat quickened. Adrenaline pushing her heart to its limit. She burst through the door, jumping the steps of the stairs two at a time. She had already suffered enough. She couldn't take it if A hurt either one of her parents or both. She slammed the door open and looked wide-eyed at her parents, who had turned around and were now staring at her in bewilderment. Her father's lips slightly open for the surprise in seeing his daughter run out so suddenly. His face quickly changed and his lips curled into a wide grin as he moved to unbuckle his seatbelt and go hug his precious child.

Then all hell broke loose. It was just a second. But in that second everything changed. A deafening sound roamed in the neighborhood. The car windshield shattered into a million pieces. Emily felt a stinging pain as they penetrated her skin and she was pushed backwards into the house with an incredible force. _Her parents' car had been blown up_.

She tried to open her eyes, but they were burning, together with her skin and her shoulder was sending intense waves of pain through her arm. She finally managed to open them slightly. The car in front of her was on fire and a dense grey smoke was leaving from it. The dark figure stepped a little closer and she could see it standing just a few steps away, leaning in on her aching body almost as if it was checking on her. Focusing on the figure in front of her, she noticed something. The figure's black hoody had a piece missing. It was its right sleeve, above the gloves the figure was wearing. It looked like it had been ripped off or… then another wave of pain ran through her body, making her contort on the floor. Slowly everything became a blur. The only sound being the steady beating of her heart and her mind instantly ran to the one thing that could _save_ her. Make her _forget_ her agony. Her _guardian-angel_. '_Paige_.' She uttered before giving in to the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, I know it's Saturday, but I wanted to post this as soon as I could because I already skipped two weeks… speaking of, sorry, I have been crazy busy these days, this is a transitioning period in my life and I have a lot on my mind right now. About the story, I hope you guys enjoy where I'm taking it and how things are developing. Thanks for the reviews and to Tzei, Mendez2014, Natsumi Jordan and sofiadc66 for the PMs. BTW, I loved the guest review about the super bowl, it was cute and made me smile ****. So, yeah, I know most readers don't have time to do it, but please write a review if you can and tell me what you guys think, it's really motivating, thanks. Hope you enjoy =) : **

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

It was dark. And it was quiet. She couldn't open her eyes. Her eye-lids were heavy as stones, her breathing slow, her heartbeat steady. She felt as if she was waking from a long slumber, and didn't know what she would find.

All her limbs were numb. She was so confused. Something had happened… her parents had just got home, but for some reason they wouldn't alight from the car. They were discussing about something… and a dark hooded figure was watching... slowly her mind processed what happened and she remembered.

The loud noise, the explosion… the pain. She had struggled to keep her eyes open. A was just a few steps away, who knew what it could've done to her… but instead it just leaned in on her… she remembered the rip in its hoodie's sleeve, and the last convulsion of pain she felt before giving in to it and passing out.

Now she was slowly taking consciousness of her surroundings and of her own body. She struggled to move and feel her fingers and her left hand closed slightly, making her realize it was wrapped around something. Together with the feel of her hand came the pain in her body. She pushed her eyes open fighting the urge to give in to her weakness and just lay down motionless. At first she couldn't see anything clearly, just confused blurs. Then her vision adjusted.

Her chest loaded with emotion, shivers running down her spine, her eyes on the verge of watering. Her heart skipped a bit when she recognized the figure leaning in on her, finally able to distinguish its features.

_Long brown hair, warm brown eyes, candid skin_, and _an extremely worried look_ that crumbled under a _relieved smile_ to see her awake.

'Hey' The girl said. Her tone was warm and welcoming and Emily forgot any pain she was feeling because suddenly she didn't mind about anything else. She looked straight through her eyes, the girl's grip on her hand tightened slightly, sending waves of electricity through her arm. The contact she had missed for too long made her hand tingle, and she wished they could stay like that _forever_.

'Paige' She hissed so low it was almost imperceptible. Her voice feeble and weak. Almost as if it might all be a dream, and she would wake up if she said it out loud. But the girl didn't disappear. Instead, she squeezed her hand gently again and widened the grin on her lips not worrying to hide her happiness in seeing Emily finally in front of her and still all in one piece, though in a hospital bed.

'It's okay.' She said. Her tone reassuring and calming. 'Em, it's okay. Everything's gonna be alright.' She repeated caressing the girl's cheek with a feather-like touch that gave the girl another shiver. Paige let a tear fall freely, not bothering to wipe it away and stared right in Emily's eyes. 'Don't worry. _I'm not going anywhere_.'

* * *

_Two days later_.

It was a late afternoon of a strangely cold spring day in Rosewood. Emily was helped slowly on the couch by Hanna and Aria. She had stayed at the hospital a couple more days because they had to check on her before they could release her. She had a bad stab wound just below her left shoulder and small cuts everywhere. She was lucky, though. The incident didn't get her that bad. And at least she could walk out of it. Unlike her parents. They couldn't. They had _died_ in that car. Right in front of her.

She remembered lying there on that hospital bed, looking at her friends one by one, with Paige lingering patiently at her side, like she had for all her time at the hospital. They had looked at her and tried to tell her that her parents were really _dead_. It was no _illusion_. No A _game_. She would _never_ see them again. They were evidently sad and worried for their friend, who had already been through a lot those days. But also relieved in seeing Paige was back with her. They knew she really needed the girl's support _and_ physical presence.

She hadn't said anything for some time. But then, when she was finally left alone with her girlfriend, she started crying. Letting out her sobs freely while Paige held her close. Trying to accept what happened and come to terms with it. She still needed time to grieve. But she was becoming a pro at it. It felt like tragedy had become her everyday thing. They had stayed like that until she fell asleep in the other girl's arms.

On the day of her release, though, Paige had to go. She said it was really important. That she had to talk to her parents to knock some sense into them. But also that she would be back soon and was keeping her _promise_. No matter what happened, she would've _stayed_.

It was mid-afternoon now, closing in on evening and she wasn't back yet… but Emily trusted the girl more than anyone else right now. She knew she could rely on her. For everything. That she would always stick by her and tell her the truth. Even when everyone else couldn't. _She would never lie to me or make promises she can't keep_.

Her friends had come to pick her up and bring her 'home' to an empty house. She had to pack her things. Mrs. Marin had offered to take her in for now. She surely couldn't stay there all by herself. Besides, she couldn't afford it. She also had to prepare for the funeral, which was the next day. Well, at least she didn't have to buy anything, she could just use the black dress she had used at Mona's funeral.

She passed a hand through her hair to comb it. Her mind turned to reality, and she finally acknowledged the three girls staring at her attentively. 'I'm fine, guys. Really. Thanks for everything, but I'm just a bit tired. So… ' She looked at them expectantly, but they remained still as stones. '…So, can we just get this done with?' They broke from their daze and Hanna moved closer to Emily, caressing her right arm. 'Yeah, just sit here, I'll get these bags full and then I'll come down so you can see if I got everything or you want something else. Ok?' Emily nodded in agreement and the girl quickly got upstairs, bringing the bags with her.

A Tomball silence fell into the room and Emily kept her gaze down, not feeling like to have a conversation right now. Or anytime soon. Not with them at least. Aria shifted uncomfortable on her seat at the far edge of the couch. 'Em… I know you're hurting right now, and probably don't want to talk about it. But I think you should.'

Emily looked up warily at her friend. She opened her mouth to say something but the words didn't leave her lips. She was so sick and tired of feeling like this. But she didn't want to talk to her friends and see them look at her with _concern_, and _sympathy_, and _pity_. She didn't want them to comfort her with their _lies_. The only one who could was Paige. Because when the girl held her close and whispered that everything was going to be alright she _believed_ her. She truly did. And she knew it was the truth, because it already did feel _better_.

Spencer saw her eyes watering and the look of longing in them. 'But we understand. If you don't want to talk about it with us. It's fine. Just find someone you're comfortable with? Please.' She said not worrying to let all her emotions transpire.

The dark-haired girl nodded slowly. 'Thanks.' Spencer breathed out with a sigh. She smiled slightly at her friend, feeling the same relief she saw in Aria's eyes just now. The other girl also smiled and took Emily's hand in hers. 'Yeah, it doesn't have to be us. Just as long as it's someone you can _trust_.' Emily smiled faintly. 'I have someone in mind.' Aria nodded. 'Good. But if you ever needed to talk to us, we are always here for you. You know that, right?' Emily felt the sting she knew so well building behind her eyes and started tearing up a little. 'I know.' She finally managed to say in a crunchy voice, comforted by her friends' constant presence in her life.

* * *

The bell rang twice in the cold air of Rosewood's cemetery. Its sound roaming lonely in the quiet place. A lot of people were there, but no one was saying anything. Everyone in respectful silence, mourning in front of the two caskets that were being put underground.

The priest asked if someone wanted to say something. Emily got up uncertain, after some family friends had delivered their eulogies. She stood in front of everyone trying to keep it together. Her gaze moved in the crowd studying the presents attentively. It posed on Paige, the girl was in a dark dress, sitting near her friends. Her look apprehensive and supportive sustained her gaze and she felt the strength she needed to hold it together and finally speak up.

'I'm standing here, today, to honor my parents.' She started in a trembling voice, gathering every ounce of courage she had left. Sighing before continuing. 'I want to remind them for who they really were… so, I'm not going to say they were perfect. I'm not gonna tell you that we always got along and that we never got into fights. Because I would be lying. They weren't perfect, we didn't always agree on everything and we had our fair share of family discussions. But they _were_ good people. And really great parents. And even though we had our differences, we always found a way back to each other. Because if there is _one_ thing I can say for certain, that is they _loved_ me. They loved me _unconditionally_ and went out of their way to accept me, even when I came out and they didn't know what it meant yet. They went out of their way to support _me_ and my _dreams, _even when I got injured and lost all hope, they wouldn't surrender and let it go, because they knew how much it meant to me. They went out of their way to try make me happy, no matter of the problems and difficulties they had to face. They loved me _unconditionally_ and I knew I could rely on them, because no matter what, they would always protect me.' Tears started to blur her vision and she tried to hide them unsuccessful. 'So. Mom. Dad. Thank you, for everything you have done for me. I could never thank you enough or pay you back for this. But I can do _one_ thing. And that is keeping your memory alive. So, that is what I'm going to do. I _swear_, I will _never_ forget _you_.'

She hesitated in front of the crowd. Her friends were looking straight at her seemingly sharing her pain. Paige nodded proudly when their gazes crossed. She let a tear fall on her cheek. Smiling sadly before wiping it away and turning to leave.

* * *

It was evening. Emily was in front of Hanna's house with Paige. Hanna's mom was in New York for a few days because of work. Her friends had decided to leave and sleep all at Spencer's to give some time to the scratched couple to finally be alone.

Paige's features were bathed by the dim light peering from the bulbs on the porch. Her expression looked pensive and dark as that starless night. Was it because of the funeral? Was it because she was worried for her? Or was she having trouble with her own parents?

She studied her thoroughly. Maybe it was their entire situation. 'Hey, are you okay?' She asked worriedly. 'Yeah.' Paige smiled briefly, not sounding too convincing. Then she looked down at her hand, held tightly by Emily's, like it had from this afternoon. She had let go briefly only to deliver her eulogy at the funeral.

'Are _you_?' She asked, equally worried. Emily looked down at their hands. She didn't want to let _go_. She had at that airport weeks from now and she lost Paige. The love she felt for the girl affected by the missing contact and unbearable distance, igniting a dread feeling that had burned her with consuming pain. A pain extinguished only by Paige's return. She now felt the warmth the girl radiated against the darkness and coldness of the night. The resolute hold she kept, and it comforted her _immensely_.

'I'm good…' She said looking back at her. 'I just want to spend some time with you.' _I need to spend some time with you_. She thought correcting herself. The girl held her gaze, still worried sick. Then, after one last suspicious look around, she moved to walk in, pulling Emily with her. 'Alright. Let's go in, then_. It's about to get freezing out here_.'

* * *

'Are we sure this is a good idea?' Hanna blurted out anxiously while she and her friends were pulling over in front of the prison, in Spencer's car. 'Yeah, Spence, maybe we should've just gone to yours, like we said we would.' Aria tangled, before Hanna continued. 'Guys, I don't like to lie to Emily.'

At this Spencer took over, turning her car's engine off. 'Alright. First of all, we haven't _lied_.' Spencer said with a serious look, gazing at them, her eyebrows slightly raising on the last word. 'We didn't know we would get a call on our way to my house. This was a last minute decision. Besides, do you really want to tell Emily about this? Because I think she already has enough on her plate, right now.'

Hanna looked torn between calling her friend or not. If she found out that they had kept something from her she might get angry and don't trust them anymore. Aria saw her gaze. 'Okay, it's getting late and she hasn't seen Paige in a while, maybe we shouldn't alarm her for what's probably nothing.' She said firmly trying to find a compromise. 'We get in. Talk. Get out. And we fill Emily in on everything first thing tomorrow.'

She waited for a confirmation and finally Hanna nodded lightly. 'Fine, but we don't stay long and if I perceive even the slightest tone of mocking in her voice, I'm out.' Smiling, Spencer looked at Aria and then at Hanna again, her eyes slightly more dilated than usual. 'Yeah! Absolutely. Thanks.' She breathed in a sigh of relief.

Hanna moved to open the car's door and alight. 'And, by the way, I'm only agreeing to this because there might be a really slim chance that it could be important and helpful and because Emily had her heart ripped out so many times, already. I don't think seeing Ali is good for her.'

Aria took her friend's arm gently once they were out in the cold air. 'Han, we know. And none of us wants her to hurt. I mean, we only want what's best for her and sometimes, in order to prevent someone from getting hurt, you have to act behind their backs.' She stopped in her tracks immediately. The two girls had turned to her, their brows creased. 'Okay, that sounded terrible. I meant you have to keep some things from them… only for the moment…' She tried to correct herself.

'Aria, we know.' Spencer uttered. 'You don't have to explain it to us, we are all very accustomed to this. Let's just get in and see what she so urgently wants to talk to us about.' They shared one last look before walking in unison towards the towering building in front of them.

* * *

Thick drops of rain started pouring in the dark sky, peering through the cold air and reaching the ground, enveloping the town in a quiet pounding sound. Emily was lying on Hanna's bed. Her head and shoulders were deposited on Paige's chest and the girl's arms were all around her, holding her tightly in a warm, comforting embrace.

'You never told me…' Emily began. 'How'd it go with your parents? You were gone a while.' Paige shifted slightly, moving her hand on the girl's right shoulder, drawing circles before lowering her finger down her back, turning the circles into eights, all the while still paying attention to the girl's hurt shoulder. She breathed a sigh, keeping her lips slightly parted trying to find the right words to say.

'Yeah, it's fine. I just needed to explain some things to them. I had left in a hurry as soon as I heard there had been an explosion at your house and you were at the hospital. They were confused to say the least. I sent them a text on my way here and went straight to you.' She paused for a second, swallowing hard. 'I was afraid. I didn't know how bad your conditions were. When I finally saw you… lying there motionless on that hospital bed. Scratches on your face. That terrible wound on your shoulder…' Her eyes watered when she looked down at the girl in her arms. Memories of that day rushing back, striking through her chest. 'Seeing you like that. The thought I could lose you… I don't think I could take that.' She finally said. Tears running free down her cheeks when she couldn't hold them anymore. The lump in her throat tightening to the point that she couldn't speak.

Emily turned as much as her hurt shoulder allowed it, facing her girlfriend. 'Paige… hey. Hey, look at me.' Paige tore her gaze from a non-specific point on the ceiling to look into Emily's mesmerizing dark eyes. Her breath taken out of her lungs at the sight. Emily's look was intense and compelling. She felt the girl's body pressing on her. It felt so good to be this close to her, but at the same time it was never enough. The love and care she saw in the girl's eyes tripled her feelings for her. She felt the need to open up and to be honest. _There shouldn't be secrets between us_. She thought, torn. _But I can't tell her the truth… not if I could lose her_. One last tear welled up her eye before falling.

Emily wiped it away brushing her thumb on the girl's cheek. 'Paige, I'm right here.' She continued, staring into the girl's beautiful brown eyes. 'I'm here. With you. You haven't lost me and you never will. _I'm not going anywhere either_.'

* * *

Steps resonated in the hallway as three pretty girls made their way to the room they were supposed to meet their biggest frienenemy. The guard leading the way opened the door and moved to let them pass.

They stepped in the dim lighted room one by one, lingering at the sight of the blond girl standing seated in front of them. Alison smiled a crooked smile, feeling the girls' unease in seeing her. Even after all these years they were so effected by her. It's time _I set some balance back. I have to take the lead again_.

She watched them thoroughly, her sight penetrating deep, as to make sure their souls had been sold. And she was the one beholding them.

'So, I thought I made myself clear, I wanted all of you to come tonight. Where's Emily?' She said when the girl didn't show up. 'She just buried her parents today.' Spencer pointed out with a disbelieving look in her eyes. 'Yeah, consider yourself lucky you got the three of us here. I for one didn't come willingly and-' Aria stepped in the conversation before Hanna could do some damage. 'Alright, we can all honestly say we weren't jumping for joy when you called us, because this thing that we're doing… it's still new, and you demolished our trust with your lies once already, it's not like you can expect it to be any different.' She posed looking at Alison meaningfully. 'But we're here. Because we made a deal and we're keeping our word. Now, about Emily, what Spencer and Hanna were trying to say is… it's crazy, what she's going through. We just couldn't bring ourselves to ask her to come tonight.' Her tone more gentle, her look hopeful that the girl would just let go for once.

'I get that, Aria. I don't want Emily to hurt either…' She began, noticing the annoyance in Spencer's behavior and Hanna rolling her eyes at this. They still thought she was lying. 'But if I call you urgently asking for all of you, that's because it's really important.'

'If it's _that_ important, don't waste our time, just start talking.' Spencer said, her tone angry. Alison looked at her, then at her cuffed hands. 'I know you're angry, Spence, but you can't blame me for this. I'm the one that lost the most to A. I only want to help us out of this mess… now, where is she?' She added after a brief pause.

'She's mourning with the only person that _can help her_ right now … _ease her pain_… not that you'd know something about that…' Hanna said subtly, trying not to be too hard. But the girl only gave her a confused look. 'Paige.' She clarified. 'Not that it's any of your business.' She added coolly.

The blond girl's sky blue eyes widened slightly between panic and bewilderment. 'She's back? Since when?' 'What do you care?...' Hanna began. 'Wait… I was right all along, wasn't I?' She asked trying to interpret Alison's expression. Spencer and Aria looked at each other confused.

'About what?' Spencer finally uttered. 'About them being back together, before the Cavanaugh house got blown up.' Hanna clarified, her eyes sparkling with intuition. 'No, that's crazy…' Aria said looking at Hanna and then at Alison. 'Isn't it?' She asked, continuing when the girl didn't say anything. 'You couldn't have got back together, Emily wouldn't lie about this. Right?' She looked for some kind of confirmation, but Spencer's look was put on Alison, not sure what to believe.

Alison shook her head before answering. 'We didn't get back together.' She said much to everyone's relief. 'But we _did_ kiss again once.' She added, hoping her honesty would get her points to her old friends' eyes.

'I told you, I knew something was up!' Hanna said fiercely, looking at both Aria and Spencer, then turning to the seated girl. 'You're disgusting.' She said before someone could tell her otherwise. 'Han-' Aria tried to stop her from making a mistake they all might regret later, but the furious girl didn't let her.

'No, Aria, don't Han me!' She said out of herself for the rage. 'You know what she's capable of, she's been misleading and playing with Em for a long time, and that's what she's doing now too! God, can't you see it? Why else would she want her here? She knows she's the most gullible and loyal, and she knows she's in a fragile state right now.' She looked at Alison once again. She didn't care about the consequences of her actions, Emily was a sore subject, her friend had suffered enough to be swayed all over again.

'Okay, Hanna, just calm down now.' Aria said when she thought the girl was going for another round. Then she turned to Alison. 'We made a deal, and we're keeping it, but Emily's off-limits. Okay?' She looked at the girl meaningfully.

'If you just listened for a second, you'd realize I'm not the one who wants to hurt her… or sway her for that matter.' She said earnestly. 'I just care about her, as much as I care about you, and the only reason I want her here is because I think we should build our plan accurately, so that we're ready for A's next move, while we figure out how to prove I'm innocent. I don't know you, but I think we should all be present for this.'

Spencer nodded understandingly. 'Fine, we'll try to be all here from now on, but you called us late and she could really use some alone time with Paige.' She said, this time registering Alison's distress. 'What's wrong?' She asked worriedly.

'People are a lot like coins, Spence, there are always two sides to them.' She said enigmatically. 'And what is that supposed to mean?' Spencer asked, her annoyance growing at the girl's subtle implication. 'It means, sometimes things aren't what they look like. Looks can be deceiving…'

'Don't we all know something about that?...' Hanna answered wryly, incredulous that Alison was talking that way about someone as sweet as Paige.

'Set your anger towards me aside for a second, Han, look at the facts!' Alison snapped, the outburst caused by the girl's continuous implying earning her the trio's complete attention. 'I know I have lied to all of you. A lot. But try to take a clear view of the situation. I am the one locked in here. She's the one free out there. And she's the one who got Emily.' She added, earning another stern look from Hanna. 'And I know you don't see her that way, but she's sneaky. I don't trust her. I haven't for a while.'

'Wait, what are you talking about?' Aria asked, confused about the turn the conversation was taking. 'I'm talking about how, though as innocent as she might look, she seems to be mingled in this. She was almost recruited in Mona's little revenge army, she is often there when something happens, but always stays in the shadows. What if she's not a mere stand-byer? What if there's more to it? Then she really had to leave, I mean, I know Emily, she wouldn't just let her go like that, she must have tried to make her stay, but Paige left anyway… and now she's suddenly back here. What I'm saying is; I know you have good reasons to doubt me, but you also have good reasons to doubt her. Have you maybe forgotten what she's done to Emily in the past?' The girls looked at her in bewilderment. _How did Alison know about that?_

As if she could read their minds the blond explained. 'Even when you didn't see me, or know I was there, I was. I always looked after you. Even at the cost of risking my own life. You might want to keep that in mind next time you accuse me of something. Because I'm really not the one you should point your finger at.'

* * *

It was dark. And it was quiet. She couldn't open her eyes. Her eye-lids were heavy as stones, her breathing slow, her heartbeat steady. She felt as if she was waking from a long slumber and didn't know what she would find.

She inhaled deeply filling herself with the familiar scent in the room. She felt warmth radiating all around her, enveloping her with a long-needed, heartfelt security she thought had lost. She pushed her eyes open, seeing what her numb limbs, accustomed to the position, refused to show her.

A beautiful girl was holding her close. Tight as if she couldn't allow something bad to happen. Protecting her. Shielding her from the cold brutality of the outer world, like a _guardian-angel_.

She moved her head closer to Paige's, their breaths mingling. The feeling of the girl's hot breath on her skin making her wish to kiss her and never stop.

Instead, she let herself be cradled by the girl's embrace. The pain in her shoulder and in her heart seemingly miles away. She felt like nothing could touch her now. Not in the girl's arms.

_Being held by Paige is the best feeling ever._

Her hand grazed the girl's. Somewhere at the back of her mind she registered the scratches on the girl's knuckles, but that thought was too distant to alarm her. Instead, she closed her eyes, taking in the sensations she was feeling, knowing it'd be moments now before the girl awoke.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone, it's been a long time since I've posted anything, my apologies. I'm actually not back yet, so I don't know how long it will take me to write the next chapter, but I decided to post this one anyway, because I felt that it was getting too long a wait. Well, thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. A special thanks to Mendez2014 for your wonderful PM.  
Follows, favorites, reviews and PMs are all very much appreciated.  
Hope you enjoy =) :**

* * *

' You know, I could write a book about this: ' The clenching story of a double faced girl, torn between the figure of a guardian angel and a demon ''. Hanna fantasied with a smug grin on her face. They had spent the night at Spencer's and were now heading to the Brew to get a cup of coffee in order to discuss what happened the previous night.

' Are you talking about Alison or Paige? ' Spencer suddenly asked, waking the girl from her thoughts.

' What? ' Hanna turned around, confused by the girl's implication.

' Well, they're both legitimate for the place '. Spencer explained patiently, expectant to hear her friends' opinion about this. The previous night they were all too exhausted to talk about it, and they ended up calling it a night as soon as they arrived at her house.

' So, are we actually thinking she's involved in this? ' Aria chimed in. Everyone turned to her for a moment. ' I'm just putting it there, we might want to take that in consideration '. She added, seemingly feeling the pressure of the girls' stares.

Hanna was strangely silent. Her forehead was stretched in a frown and a wrinkle was laying between her eyebrows. It was really hard to believe that Paige was A. In all these years the girl had always proved to be ready to help them, to come to their rescue. Besides, she clearly loved their friend with all she got. It was so obvious in everything she did, the girl always wore her heart on her sleeve. That wasn't up for discussion. So, if she cared so much about Emily, why would she even think of tormenting her and her friends? ' Guys, we have already blamed her once and she proved us wrong. After everything she has done to help us, can we seriously doubt her again? Besides, what would Emily think? '

' If Paige is A then it doesn't matter what Emily will think of us pointing our fingers at her '. Said Spencer animatedly, while shaking her head. ' But we have to be sure before we say anything. We don't want to make a fuss about it, especially since it might turn out as nothing. So… how about from now on we keep our eyes open for both Ali and Paige? That way we'll be ready if one of them is playing us '. She reasoned.

' Yeah, we have to keep our guards up and expect anything. We don't need any more surprises '. Aria agreed. As much as that theory could sound absurd, they had to take into account every possibility. You could be made a fool only so many times. And she had a feeling things were about to change.

They all glanced at Hanna, who was looking back at them, still uncertain. Aria saw her distress and tried to reassure her. ' Hanna, we're not saying Paige is A, no one is organizing a witch hunt, here. But we want to do things right this time, watch out for ourselves and the only way to do that is to ponder our moves carefully, to anticipate every single angle A could strike us next. This is how we're going to be prepared when A turns our reality upside down again '. She concluded.

Hanna nodded. She understood her friends' perspective. After all, they had to do what needed to be done. And that meant they couldn't trust anyone outside the four of them.

'No more surprises'. She agreed. The three girls looked at each other determined. A might have won the battle, but the war was still on. And there was no way they were going to let A win this time.

* * *

Emily opened her eyes slowly. The room was bathed in a bright light and a familiar, sweet scent was perceptible in the air, making her waking all the more pleasant. Her arms laid stretched on the other side of the bed, under them nothing but the white sheets. An anguishing feeling formed at the pit of her stomach as realization downed on her. Paige was gone. Again. Was there something wrong? Maybe something important came up and she didn't want to wake her up.

She tried to push her doubts aside and got up into a sitting position. She had to call her to make sure everything was fine, then she would swing by Spencer's to see her friends, and then she would go to the Brew for her shift.

She had just listed her chores for the day, when the door swung open and a familiar brown head made her entrance into the room. ' Hey, you're awake '. Said that husky voice Emily liked so much. Paige's smile was beaming on her lips and the light of the newborn day, peering through the windowpane, gave her intense brown eyes an all the more glowing look. She seemed happy, bright.

Her smile was infectious and Emily couldn't help but feel the same. It was something completely different from the grief she had felt for weeks. After that tragedy, another day had risen, and for the first time in a long time she felt good. She felt alive. And she had Paige to thank for that. She couldn't look back, and, as much as it hurt to think of what and who she lost, she had to look forward and move on with her life.

' Hi, I thought you already left '. Emily said looking at her while mirroring her same smile. Paige felt her heart skip a bit at seeing Emily's smile. It was bright and pure. Its magnificence illuminated the room and for a moment it looked like the rays of the sun where coming straight from it. The girl sitting in front of her in that bed didn't show any of the sadness of the previous days. All of her pain had been scratched away, all of her sorrow had been pushed deep inside, and all that was left was an overwhelming positivity. A heat that sprang from the girl's heart, all the way to the outer world, to finally reach her skin. That heat enveloped her, melted her heart and all she could think of, for right now, was _Emily_.

' I woke up not long ago, _couldn't sleep_. I actually thought I'd go for a jog, but… I didn't want you to wake up and don't find me anywhere. So… '. Emily's smile got bigger. Paige was so close to her now and her voice was nowhere near the distant one she heard on the phone. ' So… ' She cajoled, and when the girl didn't say anything. ' What are your plans for today? '.

Paige looked at her attentively, the smile not leaving her lips. ' Well, first of all, I'm going to have to train; it's part of the conditions I agreed on with my parents… '. Emily started approaching the end of the bed, longing for a satisfying answer. ' And then…? '.

Paige gave her another look. Anticipating the girl's next move she got closer to the bed. ' Then I've got the day for myself… do you want to do something together?'. She said, despite already knowing the answer. She moved her hand to position a lock of hair from the girl's eyes behind her ear. ' Oh, I wanna do multiple things together '. Emily said putting her arms around the girl's waist and dragging her closer.

Paige chuckled lightly, wrapping her arms around Emily's neck. She had never realized how much she missed the contact. After all that time apart her skin was almost burning. It was that same feeling when you need to breathe and you can't get any oxygen into your lungs. And that contact right there was soothing her skin from all the torments of the previous weeks.

Without thinking any further, she dipped her head to feel that same sensation on her lips, and they found Emily's. They both remained still in that moment. Just enjoying being there, _together_. They didn't want it to end, not wanting to come back to reality just yet.

Emily was slowly starting to work her way under Paige's black tank top, wanting to feel more, needing more. She knew she had to leave for her shift and everything. But she couldn't pull away, she had to have more of Paige, she wanted to make up for lost time. Emily started pulling Paige closer and closer, leaning back on the bed until she was lying with Paige on top of her.

Paige's body, however, was being held up by her strong arms, not landing with its full weight on the girl. Paige felt Emily trying to deepen the kiss. She knew how much the girl needed her, and she was aware of how much she was longing for this herself. But she couldn't have it. Not when she was keeping something that big from the girl. She felt the guilt eating up at her. It was like taking advantage of Emily, and she wouldn't do that for anything in the world.

Emily's lips were starting to make her head reel, and her thoughts were becoming more and more scrambled and confused by the second. Her force of will was crushing under Emily's kisses. She knew she had to stop this now, when she still could.

Emily felt Paige pull away from her. The warmth she had felt had been tore away. She opened her eyes confused, just to see Paige up on her feet, readjusting her tank. The girl smiled at her apologetically. ' Sorry, I really have to go, if I don't train I will be forced back to California, remember?'. Emily looked down disappointed. She had forgotten about that. She had forgotten about a lot in that brief, intimate moment. Being with Paige did that.

' Right, yeah, of course '. She said nodding, before getting up too. Her face darkened as she came back to the real world.

Paige looked at her. She felt pain stinging through her chest at seeing Emily sadden and knowing she was the one to blame for it. She always had the urge to fix things for Emily, make everything better, and she wished there was something she could do this time. 'Hey, you understand… right?'.

'Yeah, Paige, of course I do. I know you have to keep the promise you made to your parents… I just… I wish we could spend some time together, just the two of us'. Emily explained. As much as she wanted to lock them inside that room and have Paige all for herself, Emily couldn't ask the girl to do something like that and risk her relationship with her parents.

On her part, Paige knew she wasn't in the place to make any promise, but she couldn't leave Emily like that. 'And we will. You'll just have to wait a little longer…'. She looked at Emily's dipped head, trying to comfort her in any way she could. ' Hey, Em. ' Paige put her hand on Emily's forearm, trying to get her attention. 'Please, don't be this sad… I'm here, alright? You can spend all the time you want with me… just not right now'. She knew her words weren't of great comfort, but it was all she had.

Emily took her hand, she appreciated the girl's efforts, and she certainly wasn't going to make a big deal out of the situation. 'Yeah, I know, thank you'. She said squeezing the girl's hand and finally smiling at her.

Paige felt dizzy and a shiver ran down her spine. Emily always got to her. She was already feeling that dumb smile pulling at her lips. God, she wanted to be honest with her so much, she knew every respectful relationship that could be called so was built on trust and honesty. But she was afraid the truth would devastate the girl. And more than anything she didn't think she could bear to see Emily look at her after she found out that she had been lying for months. That was the scariest part, the part she couldn't handle.

'Well, I have to get ready for work or I'll be late…' Paige was startled from her thoughts. 'Paige, you don't have to worry about me, I'm sure I'll survive if you leave without me to go to practice'. Emily joked, trying to do her best to sound upbeat and lighten the mood. 'Really, I'm fine. I'm going to see you later anyway, right?'

'Right'. Paige smiled at her, her cheeks a little flushed.

Emily leaned in to steal a last kiss from the girl, before heading quickly to the bathroom, suddenly aware of the passing of time. 'Alright, I'll see you'. Paige called after her, before heading out herself.

* * *

It was a cold morning and a light breeze kept blowing, moving the trees' branches outside the Rosewood's police station. Meanwhile, inside the building, four girls just reunited together. All of them where there for the same reason; to talk to the young, blond inmate put, apparently unjustly, behind bars.

' I'm not sure we should be here '. Said the brown haired girl supporting her friend tightly. The girl next to her was wearing dark glasses and was trustingly clenching at the girl's arm. 'Don't worry, we're doing the right thing'. She assured her.

The two other girls - who looked very identical to each other - both nodded towards her, agreeing. ' If we visit her, she has no reason to be mad at us, we need to be on her good side… she's dangerous, remember?' Continued the girl with the dark glasses.

' That's why I don't think we should be here, Jenna. We decided to join her when she asked us to, because we feared her, but now that she's behind bars, there's nothing she can do to us!'. Debated the first girl.

' You're still so naïve, Sydney. You don't know her like I do, if Alison wants to have her revenge on you, she will stop at nothing. And trust me, a prison cell won't hold her, eventually she will get to you. I learned this a long time ago, and I am reminded of it every single day of my life'.

The twins looked at each other, suddenly alarmed, but still not saying anything. Sydney Driscoll passed her arm comfortingly on the girl's back. 'You're right. I'm sorry. Let's just get in and see what she wants. We just need to pretend to be on her side, and don't give her any reason to turn on us'. She said, trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice.

Hurried footsteps resonated on the floor. The girls all turned to the guard that was approaching them, ready to guide them to the inmate's cell.

* * *

The three girls were sitting on the furthest couch from the exit, in a corner of the Brew. They each held a steaming cup of coffee in their hands and were chatting quietly about their plan. They figured if Paige was A, then there must be a breach in her alibi. If they found no proof against the girl, then Ali was lying to make them focus on someone else than her. Because she wasn't telling the truth about herself. It also occurred to them that, if the second case was accurate, then there was someone else out there, helping Ali.

They ultimately decided that they would split, Aria and Spencer would look into the 'Paige theory', while Hanna would check on Ali.

Spencer and Aria started with what they knew; Paige's past was not exactly smug clean. She had always hated Ali, something completely understandable, since the girl kept tormenting her cruelly. But other than that, she also had a story of violence, both towards herself and other people. She had - as Spencer insisted to call it - 'a bit of a dark side'. All of this belonged strictly to her past, though. The girl had changed during the years and had always been very caring and protective of their friend.

In order to figure out if she was behind this, they had to understand her better, find out what she had done in the past months, and keep track of her movements. All the girls agreed on one thing; they had to get on with this 'Paige is A' thing right away, so that they could move on to the next suspect on their list. The time was ticking and A had often proved to be unpredictable.

The girls studied Paige's case closely, writing a table filled with her movements, in chronological order, from the past months. They noticed blank spots here and there. First, she had supposedly left for California, and had supposedly trained all this time, than she had come back to Pennsylvania for Emily.

' Wait, how did she know that Emily was at the hospital? ' Aria suddenly asked.

' I think she said that someone called her to tell her about the explosion and that Emily had been rushed to the hospital '. Hanna provided, after sitting quietly and listening to her friends all this time.

' Yeah, but who told her? ' Aria asked again.

Spencer's face got more serious than it already was. ' I hadn't thought about that… she was at the hospital around 6 a.m., which means she knew before 3 a.m., but how? I haven't told her. None of us have '. The girls looked at each other, they had finally found something suspicious about Paige. Something that could pin her down, but that could also be easily explained. At least it was a start.

' Besides, what about her parents? Are they still in California? ' Spencer was throwing the questions, while she racked her brain for answers.

' They should still be in Cali. ' Hanna supplied again. ' I mean, I really haven't talked much to her, that's what Emily told me '. She explained.

' Alright, then where did she go before Emily's release from the hospital? What was she doing all that time?' Spencer looked at Hanna - expecting another answer - but the girl just shrugged her shoulders in reply.

Someone entered the bar, making them turn towards the door. There weren't many people around at the time of the opening. They all stiffened a little at seeing who it was; Emily had just arrived to start her shift. The girl smiled at her friends, when she saw that they were already there, and started making her way towards them.

Spencer turned quickly with a warning look. ' Guys, not a word. Remember: she cannot know anything just yet'. Aria nodded subtly, while Hanna greeted her approaching friend with a big, warm smile on her lips. She knew this was for the best. Emily had already been through so much in such a short length of time. Telling her now would only make her feel betrayed by her closest friends and alert her, when Paige was obviously being pushed under the bus by Alison. That girl was cunning and diabolical. Hanna knew Paige was the perfect person for Ali to blame; she had a troubled past that could make her look bad. Besides, Alison was most definitely envious that Paige ultimately got Emily all to herself. Or at least that was her take on the situation. A take that Spencer had only briefly considered, before declaring that a little digging on the matter wouldn't hurt.

' Hey, guys '. Emily was sporting a huge smile on her lips. She really did look happy. 'What are you up to?'. She asked.

The girls looked at each other, while improvising an excuse. 'Oh, nothing really, we are just hanging out'. Spencer uttered weakly. Emily gave her an inquiring look. ' we woke up this morning and decided to come here, get a coffee and relax for a second; things have been so stressful lately '. She tried to give a better explanation, something that could sound convincing. Aria and Hanna adamantly nodded their head at Emily, confirming Spencer's explanation.

' Yeah, and we didn't call you because we figured you wanted to spend some alone time with Paige '. Added Aria after a while. ' We forgot you had to work today '. An awkward silence set into the almost empty coffee shop. As the three girls on the couch were smiling and trying to do their best to look convincing.

Emily furrowed her brows in confusion for a moment, she knew her friends all too well for not noticing that they were keeping something from her. Luckily for them, she wasn't in the mood to investigate what it was that they were hiding. She decided to let the matter drop for now. She would have to remind herself to bring it up later.

' Aright, I'll leave you to your relax time, I'm gonna go ahead to the counter now, I'm already late as it is '. Emily emphasized with an hushed tone and an exaggerated mouthing of the words. She barely dared a quick glance behind her.

' Don't worry, Em. Jane was the one to open, your boss is not around yet and - as you can see - she doesn't need much help, this place is basically deserted. ' Hanna said pointing around. Apart from them, there was just a couple of people occupying the seats near the exit.

Emily nodded, relieved. ' Well, good. But I'm going to go ahead anyway, wear my apron, wait for costumers… call me if you need anything '. She glanced one last time at her friends, before turning on her hills and approaching the counter.

' Sure'. Hanna said, before realizing Emily was yet to tell her what happened the previous night. ' And later, I wanna hear all the details of your reconnection time with Paige '. She called after her friend. ' In the meantime, start making a mental list of everything that happened '. She concluded with a smug grin on her face.

_Or that didn't happen._ Emily corrected, without actually saying the words out loud. She looked down, while tying her apron behind her back. Before, when she was alone with Paige, she felt that the girl wanted her. But then, when she pulled away, it was rushed and urgent, like she had to for some reason. She couldn't help but feel that something was off with Paige. Like the girl wasn't being completely honest with her. She really hoped she was wrong about that.

* * *

Paige was swimming fast, rushing through the water trying to get all of the anger out of her system. She was furious. Not at Emily, obviously, but at herself. At her messed situation. She knew she was being a coward. She should have told Emily everything from the start. But reprimanding herself now wasn't going to solve all of her problems. She needed to build up her courage and face her biggest fear head on. She had to risk losing Emily forever, because the girl deserved to know the truth. She owed her that.

An image of Emily's hurt face flashed in front of her. Paige slowed down her pace as she reached the side of the pool, where the water was deep enough for her to touch the bottom with her feet. She heaved a sigh, frustrated with herself. Deep down she knew things were never going to play out like they did in her mind. She wasn't going to come back to Emily this afternoon and just tell her everything like that. The only thought of it made her nauseous. She knew she would be paralyzed before even managing to bring the subject up.

She pulled herself out of the water, trudging towards the locker room and the showers. At the same time she knew things couldn't be like this. Emily would find out the truth eventually, either because of someone else telling her, or because of her actions betraying her. And she wanted to be able to be the one to tell the girl everything that was keeping her up at night.

She'll just have to find the right time, she finally concluded. Admitted there was a right time to tell the most important person in your life that you're _not_ who they think you _are_.

* * *

Emily moved to untie her apron. She had had a good half day of work, and she was getting a little tired. All of her friends, besides from Hanna, had already left, each drifting off separately on their own accord. Emily bid Brody - the guy that would take her place behind the counter - goodbye.

She made her way towards Hanna, knowing the girl had a surprise in store for her by the way that she was grinning deviously. ' You are still here'. She noticed when she was in hearing distance. 'Of course I am, we had a deal, Em'. Hanna replied, a hint of excitement in her voice.

Emily gave her a puzzled look, not grasping what the girl was referring to. Hanna noticed her confused expression and, understanding the girl had no clue of what she was saying, she explained. ' Your full story of ' The happy time of Paige and Emily ', filled with many, many details, and very little left to the imagination… duh! What'd you think I was talking about? '

Emily's eyes widened a little at her friend's straightforwardness. Sometimes she forgot how she was. Emily shook her head. ' Nothing, I had just forgotten about that '. Hanna glanced at her in a way that for a second made Emily worry that she had understood that something was wrong.

' Wait… so… you didn't make a mental list of everything the two of you did together?' She finally asked, making Emily release the breath she didn't know she was holding. She was glad her friend wasn't going to grill her with a thousand questions to find out what was wrong.

' No, sorry '. Emily cringed a little at seeing her friend's disappointment in her eyes. ' Oh, don't sweat it, Em. You can make it up to me this afternoon '. Emily found her brain maniacally searching for some kind of excuse to avoid spending the next hours with the girl. Not that she didn't want to spend time with Hanna, but there was someone she was more eager to see.

' Maybe I can make it up to you some other time? ' She asked hopefully, before deciding to go with the truth. ' Paige is free this afternoon, and I kind of wanted to spend some time with her… '. She admitted, hoping her friend would understand.

Hanna looked at her with a huge grin beaming on her lips. ' Em, what the hell, you're insatiable! That poor girl just came back, give her a second to breathe! '. She joked, enjoying the effect it had on Emily. The girl's cheeks flushed bright red in embarrassment.

' It's not what you think… ' Emily began weakly, trying to save the last shred of dignity she had left.

' Relax, I completely understand, I'm just messing with you. ' Hanna started reassuringly, with a light laugh. 'But, honestly, it's been a while since we spent some time together. So, I thought maybe you can spend the night again at my house and ask Paige to meet you there, and we can go shopping this afternoon… ' She said noticing the 'no way!' expression written all over her friend's face.

' Uhm… ' Emily began, uncertain. She didn't want to disappoint her friend, but she and Hanna could always go out shopping some other time, what she really needed now was to be with Paige.

' Come on! please? I promise you'll have fun, it will give us the chance to catch up. Plus, you could buy a gift for Paige, and you will have my full attention, I'll give you some advice and help you choose something amazing… I actually already have something in mind… ' She added smiling deviously.

Emily looked at her worriedly. Who knew what Hanna had in mind. From the way the girl was grinning, she felt like she needed to be concerned about it. She kept staring at her for a moment. She didn't really want to say 'no' to her friend either.

' Please, please, please… '. Hanna repeated like a mantra, frustrated at the fact that her friend was so hard to convince.

' Aright. Fine. Fine, we can go '. Exclaimed Emily exasperated, gaining a squeal of exultation from her friend. 'But you can only state your opinion, I will be the one choosing '.

Hanna was nodding. ' Yeah, sure. ' She agreed.

' Also, you don't have to let me spend the night at your house; I got a text from Paige earlier and she told me that she's at her parents', so I'm guessing we'll spend the night there… but thanks '. She said, grateful at her friend's availability.

' Oh, okay. So, her parents are still in California, huh? Are they okay with her being here?' Hanna inquired, taking the chance to spread some light on the matter.

' Yeah, they're still in Cali. And they sound okay with her staying as long as she trains daily... of course she'll have to come back at the start of the academic year to attend Stanford '. She said, while they finally exited the Brew and headed for the mall. ' Why do you ask? '.

Hanna turned to her friend, who was walking at her side and looking straight ahead. ' Uhm, no reason. I was just making conversation'. She explained calmly.

' Alright. Walk faster, if we keep this pace we'll take too long to get there and I don't want to be back late'. Emily said, already walking faster, with Hanna following suit. _It would only be hours before she saw her again. She couldn't wait._

* * *

It was almost dark, when Emily finally walked to the McCullers'. It had been a long day and she was feeling a little worn out, but just the thought of coming back to Paige made her feel wide awake.

Hanna had insisted for her to buy an extremely provoking bra and panties and she ultimately said 'yes' only to put an end to their infinitely long shopping session and to Hanna's embarrassing explanation of every perks of the pieces of clothing.

And now she was finally back. A fresh wind was blowing lightly. She pulled her jacket tighter around herself to cover herself up better. She saw the house in the distance and rushed to the front eagerly to knock on the door. She didn't have to wait long for the door to swing open. Paige welcomed her with a big, warm smile on her lips. ' Hey, I thought you were never going to get here.' She exclaimed, evidently glad that the girl was finally there.

' I know. Hanna was just being Hanna. And after she was done buying her stuff she tried to get me on buying this thing, and no matter what I told her, she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.' She said warily.

The door swung close, and the girls headed upstairs with Emily leading the way. 'Oh, Really? What did you buy?' Asked Paige, curious about what Hanna made her girlfriend get.

Emily cringed at the question. ' Uhm… nothing special, really. I'll tell you some other time.' She said hoping Paige would just forget about it. It wasn't the right moment for this. And she was feeling slightly embarrassed at the thought. She opened the door upstairs and entered Paige's room first, waiting for her girlfriend to be inside before closing it.

She noticed Paige was about to say something and hurriedly added. ' Right now, I just want to be with you, hear everything about your day, and listen to your voice as long as possible. I really missed you. ' She said, meaning every single word.

Paige looked at her for a second. Emily's stare was so intense that she was lost in it for a moment. She stood there speechless, unable to utter a single word or move a single finger. Emily's look made her hold her breath, like that moment depended on it. Her stare was so mesmerizing that she was captured by it. It took a while for her to return back to reality. She slowly became aware of her surroundings and found her voice again. ' You don't really look like you want to listen to me talking right now. ' She noticed in a raspy voice. Her brain still processing the words that had left her mouth without her permission. She really wasn't in the position to start anything.

A smile tucked at Emily's lips. She did want to listen to Paige's voice. But maybe there was something she was craving more. She didn't know how Paige did it, but the girl always seemed to see right through her, to read her mind and understand what she wanted.

Emily moved forward, closing the distance between her and Paige and locking the girl's lips in a lingering kiss, proving that Paige was right. The kiss became longer and more heated and Emily started walking towards the bed, pushing Paige until the girl had to sit down on it. Emily then moved to straddle her, not breaking the kiss.

Paige, though, wasn't really up for it. Well, actually she was, but not until she had come clean about everything. She rested her hands on the girl's hips. She had to figure out a way to stop what she had involuntarily set into motion before it was too late. But how? She didn't want to repeat what had happened that morning. She didn't want to see Emily hurt and disappointed, while she tried helplessly to make her feel better. Besides, she didn't have any excuse now.

Paige felt Emily push her to lie down. Her back made contact with the bed and the girl started to leave a trail of kisses down her neck and jaw. It was all getting too much. She didn't know how long of this she could take before losing her strength of will and every chance of being able to stop it. She could feel herself being drained. How could she oppose to this when everything she had dreamed of for so long was having Emily's lips on her?

At the same time - just like it had happened that same morning - Paige felt that anguishing sensation coming back to torment her. It was painful and it was making it hard for her to breathe.

All of this had to stop, she finally decided. But she wasn't ready to tell Emily the whole truth, yet. She had to come up with something. _Anything_.

Emily was enjoying the feeling of the girl's soft skin under her lips. She still hadn't realized about Paige's distress, and the thought of stopping was very far out of her mind. Instead, Emily pulled at Paige's hem of the shirt. The girl's neck wasn't enough, she needed to cover more skin.

Paige was aware of everything happening. But she couldn't allow it. She was so guilt ridden, she thought the weight she was feeling was about to crush her. _It's now or never. _She thought, knowing this was the time.

' Emily… wait. '


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's my 6th chapter. I admit, one of the reasons why it took me so long is that I had a bit of difficulties with this one, and I'm not completely satisfied about how it turned out, so I apologize in advance if it's nothing near your expectations, but I did try my best to get this out. I know that many of you won't like what's about to come, but I want to stick to my original idea of the story, sorry if it's not what you want.  
Last chapter was actually the most viewed, so thanks to everyone who read, followed, favorited and reviewed. Please keep it up, I really love to hear everyone's opinion on this, and I really appreciate your support. Also, thanks to Siophiefandom and Alaskinder for your PM.  
I just want to spend a second to dedicate this chapter to my best friend, who is leaving and moving to Germany, I hope you'll find what you're looking for and that we'll meet again before long :)**

**Alright, here it goes, hope you enjoy =) :**

* * *

Emily was lying still on the mattress. Her chest heaving slowly in a rhythmic motion. Her form barely distinguishable in the darkness of the room. It was night and she looked like she was deeply asleep.

But she wasn't. She couldn't. Her mind kept replaying the events of that evening, trying to make sense of it. She couldn't explain it. The girl lying on the other side of that bed seemed different, somehow. She was doing something that Paige would never do. _Paige would never keep something from me. _She thought trying to quiet the other voice in her head that kept screaming something was up. She normally wouldn't doubt Paige, but the way the girl acted that evening and the morning before sent her in alarm. She didn't know if something happened while she was away; maybe she had met some other girl, or did something stupid, something that she wouldn't normally do. She didn't know what, but whatever it was Paige had to tell her. They had to work it out and move on. After everything they've been through there wasn't anything in the world that could break them apart… was there?

On the other side of the bed Paige was equally still, seemingly asleep and equally thinking of what happened earlier that evening. She couldn't have her way with Emily while keeping something like that. She hated to lie. Especially to Emily. It was eating up at her slowly and remorsefully. It was an inner struggle she was destined to lose. Because every time she looked in _her_ eyes she felt her resolve loosen. But then she imagined those eyes looking at her with that hint of pain and betrayal in them and she pushed her walls back up again. It was a choking, awful feeling. And for a moment she thought she didn't have to endure it anymore. For a moment she thought she would come clean about everything and everything would be okay again.

' _Emily… wait '._

She heard the sound of her words repeating in her mind. The whole scene replaying all over again, for what must have been the hundredth time.

_Emily stopped, finally aware of Paige's discomfort. Was something wrong? Paige looked up at her. She could see the struggle in the girl's eyes and all the emotions playing behind them. She could read pain, worry, defiance, love, lust, and awareness. She instantly knew that something was going on. 'Paige… what's wrong?' She asked slowly sitting up, distancing herself from the girl to give her some space; she kind of looked like she was having some difficulties breathing._

_Paige stared at her one more second, making up her mind on what to do. She was going to tell her everything, but now wasn't the time. She had to prepare her for the truth, she decided. Once Emily found out the truth, the girl would find herself questioning Paige and every aspect of their relationship. She needed to prove one more time her love for the girl before coming clean. She needed Emily to bear clear in mind the image of the Paige she knew, before it was ripped apart. That way maybe she'll understand and maybe she'll have another chance with the girl of her dreams. _

' _I can't.' Those words left her mouth in a rusty whisper, perfectly describing how painful it had been for her to get them out._

_Emily was simply confused; since Paige came back things had been a little easier for her. It had been amazing to finally spend some time in the girl's arms, finding peace and comfort in her embrace. It was like coming back home, to safety. But now for the second time today, Paige was acting weird. And what got her worried was that she had no idea what was troubling the girl. She shook her head to get clear thoughts out of the lust of that moment. She needed to know what was going on. 'It's alright, we don't have to do anything, ok? Just tell me what's wrong. Did something happen? You know you can tell me anything.'_

_Paige nodded. ' I know. But… this isn't just anything. I know I have to tell you, but right now I just can't.' She looked up at her, hopeful that Emily would let go for now._

' _Why? Is it that bad?' Emily was getting more and more worried as the conversation progressed. Paige had always been honest and open about their relationship and had a long time learned that she could trust Emily with any problem._

' _Can you please just let go for now? I will explain everything, I promise. ' Her tone was hushed and hopeful, almost like a prayer. She just wanted to do things right._

_Emily looked at her. If Paige didn't want to tell her she wouldn't push it further. ' Okay. Yeah. We'll talk about this tomorrow or when you're ready.' She said effectively concluding their conversation._

And now here she was. Lost in her deepest thoughts and at a crossroad on what to do. Because anything she'd come up with, she couldn't see this ending any good.

_I will lose her._

* * *

' So, just to make it clear, you called us this early and told us to meet you here, because… ?' Hanna inquired, her tone stern and irritated. She clearly didn't want to be up at that time. It was really early and they were outside the McCullers mansion, for what she guessed was another of Spencer's crazy plans.

' I called you here because I know Paige has left with Emily for a couple of days and her parents are still in California. I think we should take this chance to have a closer look to her stuff and possibly her hiding places.' Spencer explained while leading them to Paige's driveway.

' What makes you think that Paige even has hiding places?' Asked Aria, while speeding up her pace to match Spencer's. She honestly believed that the girl didn't have any.

' Everyone has hiding places, Aria. Everyone needs some safe place to keep their most personal things. But if I'm right there will be more than just family photos and rusty necklaces in there.' Spencer explained, looking back to cross her friends stares.

' So, basically, we're breaking into her house just to see if your crazy theory is correct.' Hanna reasoned. What Spencer wanted them to do bothered her. She understood having a little investigation and digging a little to understand what was going on and why Paige looked bad in that situation, but she thought that breaking into her house while she was out with her girlfriend and her parents were away was pushing it too far.

' No, we're breaking in because she is a suspect and we need to make sure she is not A. Because, as crazy as that sounds, she _does_ look shady right now and she _could_ be a danger to Emily.' Spencer corrected.

' You know what? You're right. It _does_ sound crazy.' Hanna said, still holding her ground. 'Look, _if_ there is a hiding place in her bedroom, then that's the space dedicated to Emily's sanctuary. I mean, that girl would never hurt Em, if anything she worships her.'

Aria turned to Spencer. Hanna was speaking reason for once. She had participated to the investigation with Spencer and agreed that something didn't seem right, but she couldn't even imagine Paige planning to blow Emily's parents off in a brutal show taking place right in front of her eyes. 'Yeah, unless she suffers from a really bad bipolar-split personality disorder or something, that's really hard to believe.'

Spencer stopped for a second in her tracks and turned around to face them. ' I know it is. I get what you guys are saying and, honestly, I don't want to believe that either. But I'm not taking any chances. I'm not trying to prove that she is A, I'm trying to prove that she isn't. And for Emily's sake and our own I really hope there's a simple explanation for everything.' She paused a second longer, giving a serious look to both her friends. She needed to make sure they understood. 'We will never know though unless we do this.'

They shared the last glares, as they always did before making an important decision. And Spencer could see Aria cracking a little at her words. Hanna still wasn't sure, though. Admitting that Paige, someone they had previously questioned, who had always stuck with them, protected them, saying that _she_ was possibly A, gave her the feeling that they couldn't trust anyone outside the four of them. That they were completely alone in this. She needed that feeling to be gone.

' Alright. But if we do this, if we go in there and search her place and we don't find anything, then we're done. We move to the next suspect and we leave her alone. She and Emily deserve to be together. After everything, they deserve to be happy.' Hanna said with so much conviction and fervor in her voice.

' Don't we all.' Answered Spencer, her tone bitter. They didn't bring this to themselves, they had done nothing wrong and didn't deserve all of this, but they were in that situation and they had to protect themselves over anyone else. She didn't think she could make that promise. Not finding anything didn't actually imply that Paige was innocent, and what they needed right now was certainty. She had to give something to the girl, though, or she knew she would never agree to this. 'Well, I can't promise we'll leave it alone, but if we don't find anything we can try to talk to her, confront her, maybe she'll have an explanation about how she knew that Emily was rushed to the hospital.'

' Yeah, and if she acts weird about it, we'll know something's up.' Aria agreed eagerly, finally seeing the end of their discussion. It seemed a good deal on both parts.

' Ok, and we'll come clean with Emily, about everything we did behind her back. The meeting with Ali and the investigation.' Added Hanna. She still needed to be sure she could quiet her conscience after this.

' Yeah, of course. We'll talk to them as soon as they come back to town, we'll explain everything.' Spencer reassured her.

' Well, I'm glad we have finally come to an agreement.' Aria breathed out, relieved. 'Come on, I can't wait to be done with this.' She added, approaching the door. All she was met with was agreement statements from her friends. None of them actually wanted to do this.

* * *

' This place is huge! ' Exclaimed Emily as soon as she set foot in the cabin. It was Saturday, really early in the morning. They had just arrived to the old cabin Paige's grandparents used to live in before they moved to Maine. No one in Paige's family went there after that, so it was empty and dusty as hell, but still a great place to Emily's sight.

' Yeah, I thought we could use a quiet weekend alone, you know, just the two of us.' Paige explained. She finally decided to bring Emily to her family's cabin. That way they could spend a couple of days alone, away from everything. It wasn't a way of escaping her problems, as much as a way of capturing every feeling Emily gave her so that she could always bear it in mind; her smile, her eyes, how the girl felt in her arms, her voice. She didn't want to lose any of that. Besides, it was her last chance of reminding Emily of what they had, of their connection, before the dream was over and she had to tell her the truth. She had planned everything. She would make the last happy memories and then, before they returned back to Rosewood, she would come clean about everything and ask for Emily to understand and forgive her.

Because it didn't matter how long it would take; she would wait forever for _her_.

' Have you been here a lot? ' Emily asked, already half way through the living room.

' Not really. No.' Paige said while bringing the couple of bags they had inside.

' Why not? This place is great. ' Emily turned to look at some photos on the wall.

' Well, after my grandparents left this place was kind of forgotten. Everyone stopped coming here, it was like there was no point anymore.' She explained leaving the bags on the floor and getting closer to the girl, who was now glaring at the photos on the wall.

' You should have showed me this place sooner, it's really big, there's a beautiful lake on the back, and it's very unlikely that someone will come up here to disturb us…' She said with a smug grin on her face. Even though the previous day with Paige had been weird, she now felt that the girl was making an effort to come clean and fix things between them. Not that she knew what was there to fix, but she appreciated the gesture of taking her out for the weekend. And maybe what had seemed like an insurmountable problem when she looked in the girl's eyes, might turn out to be just nothing. At least that was what she was choosing to believe, that it was all in Paige's head. She turned to her girlfriend with that playful smile. 'How come it never crossed your mind? …to bring me here sooner, I mean.' Emily added when Paige just kept looking at her.

Paige turned to look at the pictures on the wall and Emily followed her glare. The girl wasn't in many of them, but she managed to spot her here and there. In every photo she was in, Paige was little, there weren't any recent photos. She wondered how long no one had been in that place.

Paige thought for a second longer about it, she had always appreciated the honesty in their relationship and even though that hadn't always been possible, she wanted to be completely honest now. ' I don't know…' She finally uttered. 'This place has been like a second home for me for so long. It wasn't just somewhere me and my parents went to have a vacation, spend some days out of town and relax. It was the place we used to meet with our relatives in big occasions, on Christmas, on Thanksgiving. Our family was a lot more united at the time. A lot of things were different back then.' She made a brief pause. Her vision lingering on the pictures.

She looked lost in her deepest memories and thoughts and Emily let her take her time with her answer. What had started as a simple question had apparently evolved in something more complicated, but she was glad that Paige was talking to her so confidentially. She was glad she could be there for her. 'It's like when you have something. You've had it for a long time and that's all you're used to. I'm not saying you give it for granted, but you think it couldn't be any other way. But sometimes things change. And maybe you don't realize that at first. Not right away. But then, someday, you just wake up and you can feel it. And deep down you know things will never be like they were before. And you just have to move on. ' She turned to look at Emily, and the girl was a little astounded by her expression.

She had felt the pain in Paige's voice, and the look the girl was giving her was of pure admiration, like she was looking at something greater than herself, something _extraordinary_. It wasn't surprising, really. Very often when they were together she could feel how strongly the girl felt about her. What was putting her off was a certain glint of oppression in the girl's features. She didn't know how to explain it, but Paige almost looked like she was afraid of something… of losing something. But what? Her? Their relationship? Could it even be? In that moment she regretted even thinking that Paige would cheat on her with someone she met in California. That look of pure love was all the proof she needed to know that Paige was _hers_ and all that distance between them couldn't change that.

Emily looked at her for a long moment. 'Paige, what are you talking about?'. She had a really strong feeling that Paige was referring to something a bit more personal than the house, but she didn't want to be presumptuous just yet. Although, maybe this was the time to ask some questions.

Paige emerged from her thoughts and shook her head slowly. Mentally kicking herself for letting her walls down and exposing so much. She couldn't. Not yet. 'Nothing. Nothing, I just let myself get drugged by memories.' She explained, shaking everything off. Now wasn't the time for being emotional, she still had a couple of days of illusion before she had to go back to reality. She turned to the girl for the last time, only a sad smile still lying on her face. 'Let's go, I want to show you around.'

* * *

A thud noise filled the room as the massive book hit the floor.

' Hanna, could you be more careful? When we leave this room, everything needs to be exactly where it was before we arrived.' Spencer scolded her.

' That's in case we find something, and there's nothing here.' Hanna argued pointedly, looking around the shelves.

' We still don't know that yet.' Spencer kneeled to push up the mattress and double check the bed.

' Come on, if there really was something hidden here, we would know about it by now. We have searched the entire house repeatedly and we have been in this room for almost an hour now. Going around controlling everything several times isn't going to change things.' Hanna was going to lose it if her friend asked her to check the shelves better for the hundredth time. Passing the whole day in Paige's house wasn't what she had signed up for. 'Spence, just admit it, we are just wasting our time, here.'

' I won't. Because we are not.' Spencer insisted, still concentrated on the search. 'This is necessary and you know it.' She said firmly.

' Necessary my ass! We have broken in, searched this place and we haven't found anything. Just give up, admit you were wrong, and let's get out of here!' Hanna said, raising her voice exasperated by her friend's stubbornness.

Spencer was about to retort, when Aria spoke up. 'Do you guys ever stop fighting?! God, you've been like this for days now, what's wrong with you?!' Spencer and Hanna's continuous quarrels were driving her mad. The whole situation was crazy and she couldn't take her friends' discussions anymore. Luckily, her exasperated reaction earned her expressions of shock as the most whished silence fell into the room. 'Thanks.' She said returning to the closet she was inspecting just seconds before.

Hanna and Spencer looked at each other. Aria had always been very quiet lately and they surely didn't expect her to react like that. Spencer moved first. She approached the girl and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her to turn around. 'Aria, we know we have probably been a handful lately and it mustn't have been easy for you.' She took a second to make sure the shorter girl was acknowledging her words. 'It's just… this has been tough on all of us and we are having difficulties adjusting to the circumstances. I'm very sorry that we're making this even harder for you by keeping fighting like this. We both are.' She added looking back at Hanna, silently asking for her intervention.

' Yeah, I'm sorry too. With all that's been going on, fighting between us is really stupid. I'm just feeling so bad for keeping this from Emily and this whole thing is making me nervous. Sorry for being so grumpy lately. I guess I'm just really tired.' Hanna admitted honestly.

' So.' Spencer continued. 'Can you forgive us? We need to be closer than we have ever been. Otherwise… I don't think we can overcome this.'

' Yeah, no, I get that.' Aria spoke for the first time after her two friends started their apology. 'And I'm sorry I lashed out at you two like that. This search has been going on for so long and we're not finding anything. On one side I'm glad that Paige is innocent, but on the other, we don't have anything else to go on about, you know? Ok, we can look into the 'Ali theory', but then what? What if we don't find anything there too? We're still back to where we started and I don't want to be there. A is going to pull something else, and this time I might actually break.' Aria started to speak freely of all her fears, letting her concerns out to let her friends in.

' I know. I know.' Said Spencer hugging her comfortingly. 'Don't worry Aria, we'll find something. We're close, I can feel it.'

' Well, can we all agree that if we will find something it surely won't be in this room?' Hanna asked, now more hopefully than ever.

Spencer looked at her, her arms still around Aria. She finally nodded. 'You're right. We wasted enough time here.' She agreed, to both her friends' relief. She smiled at them, before turning towards the exit. 'Come on, let's go. We can talk to Paige when she will be back. I don't know why I pushed this so much, I guess I just wanted to be right.'

They all moved to get out, when a sudden noise hit their ears. Spencer and Aria turned towards Hanna - who was slightly behind them - their faces covered with questioning looks. Hanna had accidentally moved a jar while putting the fallen book on the shelves, making it come crushing down on the floor. The jar broke into a million pieces, discarding its contents everywhere. Hanna was about to apologize again, when her eye caught something.

' Hey, what's that?' She asked immediately, curious about the little device that had rolled out on the floor among the other things.

Spencer moved towards it and kneeled down to study it. 'Would you look at this. A phone?' She said, completely aware that their new discovery meant a big score on their part.

' Why would she keep this hidden here?' Aria inquired. Maybe there really was more to the 'Paige's theory' than what she and Hanna thought.

' I think we just found her hiding place.' Spencer affirmed, smiling victoriously at both her friends.

' Well, I'm glad I knocked down the right jar.' Said Hanna jokingly.

Spencer grabbed the phone from the floor and got up, before hugging her friend tightly. 'Yeah, you can be so clumsy sometimes, but I don't know what I would do without you.' After a while she turned to Aria. 'Or you.' She added.

Aria smiled back at her. 'Spence, we already know, you don't have to tell us.'

' Yeah, and it's great that we found this, but we need to make sure that it is not A related. If it is…' Hanna paused a second, still incredulous to her own words. 'I never thought I would say this, but if it is, than Emily is putting herself in danger by spending time with Paige.' She looked at her friends worriedly. She was really hoping this hidden phone was just the door to some stupid secret Paige had about her family. Or just something really personal about herself. _Please, don't be A related_. She chanted in her mind, almost like a silent prayer.

Spencer, who had untangled from her friend as soon as the latter had started talking, nodded her head in agreement. 'Yeah, let's see what's so important on this phone that no one is supposed to find it.' She said turning it on and then scrolling through the messages. Aria and Hanna were glued to her sides as they glared attentively at the screen.

Spencer finally decided to click on the first one, the new window immediately opening and exposing all the hidden information before their eyes.

They all gasped as their worst suspicions were finally being confirmed.

' Paige is working for A?' Hanna asked out loud, even though it was more directed to herself than anyone else. 'Why? Why would she do that?' She stuttered again. Even after seeing the texts that the girl exchanged with A, she couldn't believe that Paige would do something like that.

Aria shook her head, mouth still agape, she couldn't utter a word. The only thing that could explain this, to her, was that there was something seriously wrong with Paige. Maybe she was more messed up than they could possibly think. She just didn't get it.

' I don't know, Hanna. But I promise you, we will find out.' Spencer said, trying to be of reassurance to her friend.

Hanna turned to look into her eyes and the confidence she found in them gave her the strength to react to the situation. She blinked out of her thoughts and nodded firmly in understanding.

' At the moment we have one big priority, though; we need to contact Emily and tell her to be careful. We don't have the luxury to prepare her for this news, she is in a house with Paige, out of town, and from what we found out we don't know what she's capable of. Technically, we still really don't know anything, but we can't take a risk. Emily needs to know right now.'

* * *

' You win! You win! I surrender!' Emily squealed squirming out of Paige's touch and moving to reach the edge of the lake.

They had passed the day exploring the place and fooling around and had finally decided to go have a swim in the cold but clear waters of the lake. Which at some point had turned into a water fight, and they had started splashing each other. Paige had retaliated with her secret move, tickling every weak spot she knew the girl had. When suddenly Emily declared defeat, nominating Paige the winner (like it usually happened during their rounds), they finally decided to move out of the water to dry out.

They sat down on the old lounger in the back of the house, staring at the lake. At some point Paige had turned away from the view to say something to the beautiful girl mere inches away from her, but she noticed that Emily was no longer with her. The girl's mesmerizing dark eyes seemed lost in the deep waters of the lake, hiding thoughts just as deep. Her features were stretched in concern for something that she wasn't allowed to know. But knowing Emily so well, she had a pretty good idea of what was troubling the girl. And she also knew that when she was like this, Emily didn't want to talk about it. She had actually learned some time ago that it was best not to push her. But, at the same time, Emily looked so sad and it was breaking Paige inside to see her like that. She couldn't bear it. She had to do something about it. She thought for a second before speaking.

Emily was startled out of her thoughts by Paige's voice. She turned to look at her and tuned in and understood what was happening in just a few seconds; Paige had started telling her anecdotes. Her lips instantly curled in a radius smile and all those dreadful thoughts left her mind.

Paige looked at her and was pleased with her results; she had Emily laughing madly half way through her first anecdote. She knew the girl so well. She knew just what to say to change her mood. With a new boost of confidence she started another one, expertly directing herself to the better part of the story.

After a while Emily was clenching at her stomach and little tears were starting to form from the corners of her eyes. She put a hand in front of her mouth trying to stifle her giggles. She almost forgot that Paige could be so funny.

' Stop! Stop!' Emily said, dipping her head as a new fit of giggles was spelled out of her lips.

' I thought you said you wanted to know how this ended.' Paige said with a light smile on her face, she looked at the girl amused. She could have gone on and on about her stories just to see her smile and laugh her lovely laugh. She didn't mind talking all night even, if that meant never seeing Emily sad.

' I know I did.' Emily said, when she finally got a grip of herself. 'But I think I hit my limit to the anecdotes I can take.' She explained playfully, wiping her eyes. Her mood was evidently better.

Paige nodded understandingly, the smile not leaving her face. 'Alright. Let's just relax for a second, the sun is about to set.' She said softly positioning herself fully laid on the lounger. She opened her arms as an invite for Emily to join her.

The girl smiled down at her and laid down. She sighed contently, waiting for the sky to turn into the picture of paradise and for the waters of the lake to captivate it in their reflection.

A few moments went by, but eventually the sun dropped down on the horizon, creating quite a picturesque scene. Emily's head was lying on Paige's shoulder, she had a big smile on her face. She had forgotten so much since Paige had left for California. Like the way the girl could make her feel. So safe, so happy and carefree… so alive. Being with Paige made her forget about her problems, her struggles. In those moments where it was just the two of them she could only see Paige and live in that moment, everything else, the outer world, every distinct detail that wasn't _them_ was just a background to a plain of magic. The only plain that was real enough to matter. _Their_ plain.

Paige looked down at the girl in her arms and saw that genuine smile. The only thing that could make her breathe again. Emily seemed so joyful and content. Sometimes, often after dark times, when she least expected it, there were these moments. Moments like this one, when Emily was so close, all wrapped up in her arms. It was in these moments that time seemed to linger to infinity. It was just the two of them and it felt like they were in perfect sync with each other. Like they were _one_. It felt good. Too good for even being able to explain it. And she felt at peace with herself. She felt like nothing else mattered outside of them and the moment they were living. _Together_.

Sometimes it was like it would never end…

A phone beeped in the distance that was Emily's purse, just a few meters away, but galaxies at the same time.

…And sometimes it ended way too abruptly for them to return comfortingly to reality.

The phone kept beeping and after a while she felt Emily pull away from her embrace, leaving her empty and cold from the loss of her touch.

Emily hastily pulled away, already regretting leaving the comfort of Paige's arms. The girls had agreed not to call her unless it was an emergency, she knew she couldn't just ignore it. She sat upright and turned to look at the girl's intense brown eyes. 'Whoever it is, they're being pretty persistent… it might be important.' She explained.

Paige nodded, still immersed in the other world. It took her a second more to find her voice. 'Yeah, no, you have to get that.' She said in a gentle voice. She looked at Emily's furrowed brows and concerned eyes and tried to muster the biggest smile she could to reassure the girl that it was okay. They had the entire night and the day after for themselves and , although she didn't like that they had been interrupted, she could wait. 'Really, I don't mind.' She added when Emily didn't move from her seat.

Emily knew that it wasn't alright. It was the longest they had been together after so long and she hated that they had been interrupted. It was a special moment between the two of them, one of connecting without the need to utter a single word. For a second she felt the impulse to grab her phone and shut it off, but what if her friends were in danger? What if they needed her help with something really important? She couldn't let them down. 'It's not okay. But thank you for understanding.'

Paige nodded again, watching as Emily grabbed her phone. Before she headed inside, though, the girl turned back and smiled at Paige. 'Today was amazing. I haven't felt this happy and safe in a long time. Thank you for giving that to me.' She said dipping her head to give her a lingering, soulful kiss.

It was penetrating and intimate and it amazed her how Emily's lips could always give her so much with the slightest intention. Not that there was little intention in this kiss. Emily was trying to convey all her emotions and her gratitude for her. There was only one word that she could come up with to describe it. It was _love_. Deep, pure, undeniable _love_ for her.

Emily pulled back. A warm tingle expanding from her lips to the rest of her body. She could never avoid the feelings that Paige's lips gave her. From that first unexpected kiss in her car, to the last time, just the previous day. It never failed to amaze her and surprise her every single time.

Paige opened her eyes slowly. God, she wished she could kiss those soft lips just one more time, but Emily had to go back inside to call whoever interrupted them before. Besides, she knew if she started something, she might not be able to stop it again. Not when every day that went by without kissing her was igniting a burning blaze inside of her. She was overwhelmed with want, but she wouldn't allow herself relief until all of this was over.

Emily stared a second longer into Paige's eyes, before distancing herself from the girl. Once inside she closed the door and grabbed her jeans and t-shirt from the floor, it was getting cold without Paige's warmth and she didn't know how long the call would last. She then looked at her phone. Twelve missed calls from Hanna. Some were from before, when they were having fun in the lake. She couldn't believe how hard it was for her to separate herself from Paige. Every second that they passed together their bond grew stronger. It was incredible and scary at the same time.

Emily dialed Hanna's number fast and listened to the sounds her phone was emitting. It took just a second for her friend to pick up.

' Em? Hey, are you okay?' Hanna seemed really agitated, something must have happened while she was away, and the fact that she didn't pick up right away probably alarmed her even more.

' Yeah, I'm fine, sorry I didn't answer sooner. What happened? Are you guys alright?'

' No, we're good, we were just… worried about you… is Paige with you?'

' Huh, no. She's outside right now. Wait, why were you worried about me?'

' Em, we discovered something. And you're not gonna be happy with it.' Hanna felt her voice tremble slightly. She had being hoping all this time that Spencer's theory was incorrect, and it pained her now to tell her friend that it wasn't.

' Well, okay, just tell me.'

' Okay, we were searching Paige's room and -' Her voice was cut short by Emily, almost yelling.

' You were what?!' When Emily realized that she could be alarming Paige, she walked to the bedroom they were sharing, the one that Paige told her was always reserved for her when their family reunited. She flopped down on the bed and listened to her friend's explanation.

' Okay, we haven't been honest with you. We have been investigating this whole time because we needed to be one step ahead of A for once, but we couldn't tell you because you already went through so much, we didn't want to put this on you. But when we visited Ali in jail -'

' What?! You visited her and you didn't even tell me?'

' Yes, but we were doing this for you.'

' So the three of you, you've been lying to me this whole time.'

' We would have told you eventually. I am telling you now. Look, what matters is that you know what we found out.' She took a moment to recompose herself and sighed sadly. She really wished she didn't have to say this right now. 'Paige… she's not who you think she is.'

' Hanna, what are you talking about?'

' I know it sounds crazy, when Alison first told us that she might be A we thought that too, but -'

' So that's what Alison told you? How can you believe her? Everything that comes out of that girl's mouth are lies. But Paige is different. She would never keep something this big from me.'

' Okay, Emily, calm down, I understand that you are upset, but you've got to listen to me right now. We went through this already. First, how did she know that you were in the hospital? Second, where was she when you were being released?'

' Is that all that you got? There can be a simple explanation to all of that.'

' I know. But then, we searched her room and we found this phone… Emily, I'm telling you, there are messages on messages between her and a certain A. I don't think there is much space for interpretation, here.'

' Okay, what if that phone was planted. A has done things like that before, right?' Emily was getting anxious. The way Paige had been acting the previous couple of days had her worried, but this? This couldn't be true.

' Maybe…' Hanna said, more to comfort her friend then she actually believing it. 'Look, in one of the last texts, A asked Paige to meet them in the McCullers' lake house. It's around the time you were released, we think she's been there all that time.' Hanna waited for her friend to say something. 'Em? I know you don't want to listen to me because I've lied to you, I'm sorry I did, but I'm only trying to look out for you. Em, please get out of there. We're coming to get you, okay? Just tell us where you are.'

Emily had been searching the drawers and the closet, turning the room upside down. She couldn't believe that Paige would do something like that. And how could her closest friends keep her in the dark this whole time? In her haste she caught something and lifted it in front of her eyes.

It was familiar.

It was a black piece of clothing. It looked like it had been ripped from something…

Then it hit her.

The memories… and the pain.

_The dark figure stepped a little closer and she could see it standing just a few steps away, leaning in on her aching body almost as if it was checking on her. Focusing on the figure in front of her, she noticed something. The figure's black hoody had a piece missing. It was its right sleeve, above the gloves the figure was wearing. It looked like it had been ripped off or…_

The reminder of the stinging agony in her body was there in the very palm of her hand.

' Em? Emily?! Hey, are you still there?! Look. I told you I'm sorry, but we're so worried about you, please say something.'

Emily couldn't even speak. So, it was true? Had Paige blown up her parents and then leaned in on her aching body sadistically, watching her contort in her agony? A wave of nausea hit her right at the pit of her stomach as her legs gave in and she doubled over. Her phone fell from her hand and she let it drop on the floor with a thud.

Her friends had been investigating behind her back. All this time, they were lying to her.

Paige, the girl she would give everything she had without thinking twice had been working against her. The contrast between the Paige she knew and the one behind this new horrendous discovery was immense, but she couldn't be bothered by these thoughts right now.

She couldn't breathe. She needed to get out of there. Following her instincts she launched for the door and ran. She reached the front door and neared the trees. In moments she was deep in the forest, but she couldn't stop. She kept running and running, trying to escape the reality that had built itself in mere minutes. The reality that was menacing to destroy her world. Everything that she could grasp to keep herself from insanity. She felt like a flooding river was desponding on her in all its full force. And she was losing her grip. Her hands slipping inch after inch from the rock she was holding on to. This was too much.

She kept running until her legs gave in and she fell down on the dirty, cold ground. All around her there were just trees for as long as her eyes could reach. She was exhausted and hurt. But most of all she felt betrayed by the one person that meant the most to her. 'How could you do this to me?' She asked out loud, her voice cracking as tears stained her cheeks. But the trees around her couldn't provide her with an answer.

She felt everything close in on her. Her tears were making everything a blur. The last feeling she had was a slight sting in her arm. She closed her eyes and abandoned herself to the darkness creeping in her vision. It was peaceful and relaxing as the lull of waves dragged her away. And soon everything ceased to be.


End file.
